Everybody Hates The Phone Company

EVERYBODY HATES THE PHONE COMPANY

Chris Faber and Dan Baron

Based On A True Story

FADE IN: EXT. HUGHES MARKET PARKING LOT - LATE NIGHT A large red and white Hughes sign. CRANE DOWN as KEVIN POULSEN steps out of a beat-up van. A 24-year-old with platinum blond hair. Lanky. Handsome. SUPERIMPOSE:

OCTOBER 5, 1988

INT. HUGHES - LATE NIGHT MUSAK.

Kevin grabs a box of condoms.

AT CHECKOUT STAND Kevin waits on line. The far-away sound of SIRENS seeps into our consciousness. He glances at THE CASHIER. Who's nervous. Sweaty. The SIRENS get LOUDER. Kevin is putting this together -- when the cashier leaps across the counter and wrestles him to the ground, pushing his face against the floor. The SIRENS are DEAFENING as a dozen police and FBI cars pull up out front, their lights flooding the store. EXT. HUGHES - NIGHT A phalanx of FBI agents pull Kevin out to a waiting car. KEVIN (V.O.) I know what you're thinking. It shouldn't be illegal to buy condoms. I couldn't agree more. INT. HUGHES Employees laud the cashier, who clutches an FBI advisory with Kevin's picture. "WANTED FOR: ELECTRONIC TRESPASS. FLIGHT FROM PROSECUTION. MALICIOUS ACCESS. ESPIONAGE." KEVIN (V.O.) In fact, I think there's a lot of things that shouldn't be illegal. INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY (1960'S) A newborn is delivered to an emotional mother's arms. KEVIN (V.O.) That's me being born. And that's my mother. Now you've spent as much time with her as I did... She hands Kevin to a social worker and starts to cry.

2.

INT. NURSERY - DAY TRACK PAST cribs:

Thea.

Tony.

HOLD ON:

"John Doe 1."

KEVIN (V.O.) People who've taken dime store psych 101 will tell you that a traumatic childhood is often a precursor to adult criminal behavior... A social worker picks him up and hands him to a happy adoptive couple. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) But let's face it, lots of people have traumatic childhoods. Not all of us make the F.B.I.'s most wanted list. EXT. POULSEN HOME - DAY A two-year-old Kevin plays with the neighbors' kids. A SHOT RINGS OUT. A ten-year-old GIRL walks toward his house, little Kevin following. INT. KEVIN'S KITCHEN - DAY The Girl and Kevin enter Kevin's kitchen. GIRL Mrs. Poulsen? No answer. The Girl looks through a doorway. Kevin moves toward the other doorway. He freezes, staring. The Girl walks up behind him, gasps, picks Kevin up and runs. Looking back over her shoulder, he sees: His mother lying lifeless on the ground, a gun next to her, blood... disappearing in the distance... EXT. CHURCH - DAY Church spires as the BELLS PEAL. CRANE DOWN. It's a wedding. Mr. and the new Mrs. Poulsen receive the guests as Four-year-old Kevin tugs at his dad's jacket, feeling ignored. INT. WEDDING RECEPTION - DAY Mr. and Mrs. Poulsen dance. At a table, Kevin sits on his GRANDMA NANI's lap playing "telephone." NANI Is Kevin there? I'm here!

KEVIN

3.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Who can say why some of us feel the pull of a special calling? Maybe there's a moment when an idea is imprinted on us, or maybe there is no reason... INT. KEVIN'S ROOM - NIGHT A fascinated nine-year-old Kevin is watching a juryrigged black and white TV showing The Story of Alexander Graham Bell with Don Ameche. Kevin's shelves are filled with books on phones, technology and science fiction. KEVIN (V.O.) Maybe some of us are just born to be doctors or firemen or aluminum siding salesmen. In my case, as far back as I can remember, I was hooked on phones... INT. KEVIN'S ROOM - DAY At a table with a bright light and jeweler's glass, Kevin probes the innards of a princess phone with tools. KEVIN (V.O.) When I was old enough to open them up, I discovered mysterious jewels, each with a hidden purpose I knew instinctively I could discover. Unlike life, phones always have an answer when you probe them. He CROSSES two WIRES.

It RINGS.

INT. LIVING ROOM Mrs. Poulsen grabs the RINGING phone. reading the mail.

Mr. Poulsen is

MRS. POULSEN Hello?... Hello? (hangs up) Gene, talk to him. All he does is play with phones for hours and hours. He wired the phone to the doorbell yesterday. Nani called. I thought kids were ringing the doorbell over and over. MR. POULSEN (chuckles) He'll probably end up an engineer. Mr. Poulsen is puzzled by a thick phone bill. He opens it and nearly has a heart attack as he flips the pages.

4.

Kevin!

MR. POULSEN (CONT'D) Kevin!!

KEVIN (V.O.) At ten, I discovered country codes. INT. KEVIN'S ROOM Kevin is on the phone, while using a French dictionary. KEVIN Je ni parle -As his dad storms into the room, he glances up in fear FREEZE FRAME. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) That was the first time I wondered how to make free long distance calls. If there was an answer to that mystery, it resided where all the rest probably did. EXT. CENTRAL OFFICE PARKING LOT - NIGHT A large, four-story building. Not a creature is stirring. Kevin, now twelve, circles it, staring at its locked doors. There's a window off a fire escape. It's open. Kevin pauses, tempted. But then moves on. KEVIN (V.O.) In whatever city, suburb or jungle you live in, you've passed one by a thousand times and never noticed. A large windowless building shrouded by anonymity, like an invisible giant. A phone company central office. EXT. BACK OF CENTRAL OFFICE - NIGHT Standing in a dumpster, Kevin rummages papers and discarded equipment. Excited, he comes up with a cracked lineman's phone. EXT. BANK OF PAY PHONES NEXT TO MIDDLE SCHOOL - DAY Kevin is surrounded by four expectant young BOYS and two CUTE GIRLS. KEVIN ... I whistle the tone which controls a switch at the central office... Kevin puts his retainer in --

5.

INSERT - CROSS SECTION DRAWING of a mouth with a retainer that FILLS the SCREEN. Kevin talks, INSTRUCTIVE ARROWS APPEAR.

As

KEVIN (V.O.) By placing a retainer in my mouth and pressing my tongue behind my incisors and gently up against the retainer surface, I could whistle a perfect 2600 Hertz tone, allowing me to take control of the system. BACK TO SCHOOL YARD As Kevin whistles into the receiver. CAMERA MOVES IN ON, then INTO the receiver. Suddenly, we're FLYING -UNDER GROUND -- THROUGH the phone lines.

We are the call --

We ENTER a mechanical switch, GOING AROUND and AROUND... KEVIN (V.O.) ... that switch controls traffic to the satellite dish in Long Beach... We hear KEVIN PUNCHING IN NUMBERS -- and we're OFF again, to another switch... then UP and OUT of a satellite dish... THROUGH the air... OFF a satellite... DOWN TOWARD a continental USA... Texas... A city -- We BLAST THROUGH more underground lines to -EXT. BANK OF PAY PHONES - DAY The pay PHONE next to Kevin's RINGS. He nods to one of the Cute Girls. She answers it skeptically. KEVIN Say something. Hello?

CUTE GIRL #1 Who's this?

Kevin hands her his phone. Who's this?"

She hears herself:

CUTE GIRL #1 (CONT'D) You put in a dime when we weren't looking. CUTE GIRL #2 He called one phone from the other. Big deal.

"Hello?

6.

BOY #1 Destination Dorkville. The kids walk off. One boy lingers a beat. BOY #2 So you can whistle through your retainer. Dude, the babes are not diggin' it. He walks off. Kevin start to walk away but a 14 year old who's been leaning against a fence walks over to him. KEVIN (V.O.) Every once in a while, like Stanley running into Livingston on the Zambezi, you stumble onto a compadre. FOURTEEN YEAR OLD That was really something. What did that whistle do? Unlock some electronic switch? Oh, I'm Ron. Ron holds out his hand.

Kevin shakes it.

INT. RON'S ROOM - DAY Ron's room is filled with electronics, motorized cars, remote controlled airplanes. Kevin watches as Ron solders the lineman's phone Kevin found in the dumpster. EXT. ALLEY - NIGHT MOVING THROUGH a deserted alley to a telephone pole... We go UP the pole to find... Kevin and Ron, with duct-taped lineman's phone hooked up to the line. Kevin hears something and hits a button. EXT. ALLEY/INT. PAC BELL TECH CENTER -

SPLIT SCREEN

The PHONE RINGS once and a TECH GUY grabs it. TECH GUY Tech center. This is Mike.

KEVIN Tech center. This is Kevin.

LINEMAN (V.O.) (over phone) This is Bob at Whitney Avenue... Tech Guy can't hear anything on his line and hangs up. STAY WITH Kevin as he takes the call, in a deep voice. Ron listens in. BOB (LINEMAN) (V.O.) (over phone) The V.X. line won't give me tone.

7.

KEVIN Have you tried the T-BOT protocol? BOB (V.O.) (over phone) Yeah. It just goes dead. KEVIN Hm... Try whacking it. BOB (V.O.) (over phone) What? KEVIN Just kidding. You must have the old V.X. D-series. Click the line twice before testing for tone. BOB (V.O.) (over phone) ... Hey. That was it.

Thanks.

KEVIN That's what we're here for.

Bye.

EXT. WESTWOOD THEATER - DAY The marquee says: "WAR GAMES." Kevin and Ron exit the theater. They're now sixteen and eighteen years old. SUPERIMPOSE:

FALL, 1983

RON Accidentally dialing into NORAD. Jesus -KEVIN Like a military installation would have the same phone number prefix as a game company. It's absurd. But Ally Sheedy is so hot -RON NORAD computers must be completely isolated -- She is. Totally. INT. UCLA COMPUTER ROOM - DAY Coming in, Ron swipes his ID. The drone at the counter nods as Ron passes the card, unseen, to Kevin, who swipes it and gets the same nod. RON You should pay half my tuition.

8.

KEVIN Just because you're stupid enough to pay for an education that should be free for everybody doesn't mean I should make the same mistake. RON What if nobody paid tuition? KEVIN Then I'd really be an idiot to pay, wouldn't I? They wait on line for a terminal. another room behind a big window.

A mainframe sits in Kevin stares at it.

KEVIN (CONT'D) I bet NORAD's connected to the ArpaNet. That would be the way to get to it for real. RON You mean go in through a university -KEVIN And hop from university to university looking for one with a lot of military contracts. Find a back door into a base -RON Then go base to base. Ron looks at the mainframe.

He looks at a smiling Kevin.

RON (CONT'D) Five bucks says I bomb Moscow before you do. Ten.

KEVIN

INT. STANFORD COMPUTING CENTER - NIGHT System operators (sysops) run from computer to computer trying to maintain control. SUPERIMPOSE:

STANFORD MILGRAM COMPUTING CENTER

KEVIN (V.O.) These were the days before the world wide web, before Netscape, before AmazonDotCom. The Pentagon's ArpaNet would one day become the Internet, but for now it was a closely-guarded, userunfriendly, computer network.

9.

SYSOP #1 (V.O.) He's back again! How?!

SYSOP #2 (V.O.) I cut his link!

SYSOP #1 (V.O.) He came over from aerospace. SYSOP #2 Cut off all outside access! INT. KEVIN'S ROOM - DAY Sitting at the computer, Kevin and Ron guzzle Cokes. Thumb-tacked to the wall is "THE HACKER MANIFESTO" with an autograph scribbled across the bottom: Captain Crunch. KEVIN (V.O.) As anarchists, hackers weren't the most organized bunch, but we shared a code -- half philosophy, half attitude. We weren't about making money or messing up other people's computers. Kevin and Ron lean back from the computer simultaneously, concerned. Ron leans forward and types. KEVIN (CONT'D) Wait, wait. Kevin leans in and takes over. Ron nods. Kevin hits "enter." CAMERA POV ENTERS the computer, takes off -EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS - DAY We FLY ACROSS lakes and deserts... PAST fences and signs: "Stop! US Military Installation!"... "Naval Research Center"... Armed sentries with dogs... barracks... KEVIN (V.O.) We were about seeing what we could do, what we could learn. Every boundary was a provocation -INTO a high tech building, PAST security cameras, UP keycard secured elevator shafts, INTO a giant mainframe -INT. NAVAL RESEARCH CENTER - DAY A LIEUTENANT, walking in, goes apoplectic. LIEUTENANT What the hell? Who did this?! He's staring at five screens, all running "Pac Man".

10.

ENSIGN Well, sir, we've had some intrusion problems... INT. RON'S ROOM - DAY Pac Man is running wild on Kevin's computer, too. and Ron toast cans of Coke Classic, laughing.

Kevin

KEVIN (V.O.) We'd done what no one had done before. We'd hacked the ArpaNet. EXT. POULSEN HOME - DAY Dark sedans pull up. MEN IN SUITS jump out. KURT VONNER -- middle-aged, large-framed, muscular -- squeezes out. The men nod to him as they head swiftly up the driveway. The LEAD SUIT knocks. Mrs. Poulsen answers. LEAD SUIT Mrs. Poulsen. Deputy D.A. Fenvez. INT. KITCHEN - DAY Kevin sits at the kitchen table in his pajamas, shaken. His eyes move back and forth between the D.A. and the cops. He can see his worried mom in the living room, sitting on the sofa with a cop, and other cops going in and out of his room carrying boxes. DEPUTY D.A. (LEAD SUIT) Why don't you just tell me what you were doing. What you were after. KEVIN I swear, I was just exploring. DEPUTY D.A. Were you working alone? someone?

Or with

Kevin says nothing. OTHER SUIT We've got your phone records. know about Ron Austin. KEVIN (scared) What did we do? What did we do that was so bad? VONNER (walking in) You were breaking and entering, Kevin. (MORE)

We

11.

VONNER (CONT'D) The same as if you'd backed up a van and loaded Stanford's computers into it. KEVIN Except... don't they still have their computers? VONNER What were you after at the Naval Research Center? KEVIN (jesting) Global thermonuclear war. (bad idea; these people have no sense of humor) Come on. We were horsing around. VONNER That's not how the law sees it. California's Computer Fraud and Misuse Act punishes each instance of malicious access with a year in jail and a $100,000 fine. Kevin blanches. DEPUTY D.A. Mr. Vonner is chief of Pacific Bell security. VONNER I think it's time to start counting up acts of unauthorized access. What do you think? Vonner stares at Kevin.

Kevin stares at Vonner.

KEVIN Except for one thing. minor.

I'm still a

This had already occurred to Vonner, off course. He and the Deputy D.A. move to a corner and talk privately. DEPUTY D.A. He's right. I can't charge him if he's a minor. VONNER But his friend isn't. MONTAGE - HEADLINES FROM AROUND WORLD LA Herald Examiner, LA Times, as well as British, Spanish, Norwegian, and Japanese papers ("UCLA WARGAMES ARREST," "SUPERCOMPUTER CAPER," etc.)

12.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY Ron stands to hear the judge's verdict, MOS. Kevin sits in back. Vonner is in the public section glaring at him. KEVIN (V.O.) The judge agreed with Vonner and the D.A. that society would be best served if Ron made the move from the bosom of his childhood bedroom to county jail. Ron and Kevin's eyes make contact as Ron is hauled out of the room in an orange jumpsuit and chains. INT. PRISON HALLWAY Ron walks a prison hallway clutching his bed sheets. KEVIN (V.O.) Some life advice: don't go to prison. If you must, aim for Federal. Failing that, shoot for State. Avoid county like the plague. Two scary INMATES stop Ron. INMATE #1 Give us your locker key. your stuff.

We want

RON But it's my stuff. A fist from an unseen inmate hits Ron's face with alarming speed. INT. CELL Ron, a huge bandage on his nose, looks at the prisoner in the next cell, who's staring at him. KEVIN (V.O.) Having just aced his mid-terms, Ron was jailed for three months and lost his physics scholarship. His cell adjoined that of Angelo Buono, Jr. The Hillside Strangler. So.

RON What're you in for?

Buono just stares darkly. INT. POULSEN HOUSEHOLD - DAY Kevin is in the den watching TV.

13.

KEVIN (V.O.) Although I am inquisitive by nature I did not have the slightest inclination to find out what life was like sleeping next to the Hillside Strangler. A cheesy commercial comes on for Control Data Institute. HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL CDI GRADUATE (V.O.) (on TV) ... So don't let the burgeoning field of computers pass you by. Take advantage of this low-cost offer from Control Data Institute to put your career on the fast track. All you need is a high school diploma. The phone RINGS.

Kevin picks up.

EXT. SRI INTERNATIONAL - DAY Gleaming glass building. Kevin exits a BMW convertible with the well-dressed VINCE DENVER. SUPERIMPOSE:

SRI Research Facility, Menlo Park, CA.

DENVER (V.O.) High school? Fuck high school. didn't finish, why should you?

I

INT. SRI OFFICES (MENLO PARK) - DAY Denver is giving Kevin a tour past large, clean offices. DENVER We called you because we're all very impressed by the way you bypassed our security. Nobody's been able to do it since me, five years ago. KEVIN You hacked S.R.I.? DENVER Then I offered to fix the holes. That's why they hired me. Kevin is self-conscious of his casual attire as they pass well-dressed young men in offices, hard at work. DENVER (CONT'D) We invented the mouse, the optical disk, the ink jet printer -clients throw problems at us and we hand back solutions. Kevin admires Denver's huge cellular phone.

14.

DENVER (CONT'D) Nice huh? We designed the circuit logic on this baby. Small enough to wear on your belt. He puts it in a belt pouch. It's awkward, bouncing as he walks. Kevin notices a cute female programmer. But his eyes light up when he sees a computer in an empty office. KEVIN A Sun Workstation.

5200 series.

DENVER We need bright minds that can think out-of-the-box, Kevin. I think you have that kind of mind. What do you think? INT. KEVIN'S OFFICE AT SRI - DAY Kevin's desk is piled up with programming texts. He's excited as a PROJECT MANAGER draws cones on the board. PROJECT MANAGER We need a white cone that can fall in any direction, at varying lengths off a dynamic set of coordinates. The client needs it in three weeks. Vince says you're a quick study. Show me. MONTAGE Kraftwerk's "Computer Love" plays on the soundtrack as Kevin reads computer manuals at night in his apartment. Kevin programming at his station. Denver hands Kevin his first paycheck. Kevin opens the envelope and reacts to the large amount. Denver smiles. Conservatively-dressed and carrying a briefcase, Kevin enters the huge SRI complex with a bounce in his step. INT. GRANDMA NANI'S HALLWAY - DAY Nani leads Kevin to an apartment across the hall. NANI It's nice of you to help. phone company are such schweinhunds.

The

INT. MRS. HAAS'S APARTMENT - DAY Grandma Nani talks to Mrs. Haas in Dutch. SUBTITLES APPEAR: "Don't worry, Kevin will fix it." Kevin is on the phone, pacing, Mrs. Haas's phone bills in hand.

15.

PHONE COMPANY GUY (V.O.) (over phone) I'm sorry, sir, there's nothing I can do. KEVIN She's been paying seventeen dollars a month for fourteen months for a discount to Asia. She doesn't even speak English, let alone Japanese. You are going to refund her this money. PHONE COMPANY GUY (V.O.) (over phone) I told you, sir, it's not phone company policy to refund the use of service. KEVIN This is insane! Let me talk to your supervisor. PHONE COMPANY GUY (V.O.) (over phone) He'll tell you the same thing. You want my advice? Meditate. I mean, we're the phone company. What can you do? KEVIN I want to talk to a supervisor right now. He's put on hold. BORING MUZAK. The LINE CLICKS. The MUZAK STOPS, then a DIAL TONE. The women look at him, hopeful. Kevin sighs. INT. KEVIN'S OFFICE - DAY Denver pops his head in. DENVER The client was very happy with your cones. Pack up, you're going to the field test. INT./EXT. SRI VAN - DAY Kevin, Denver and an SRI team drive in the desert. They pass a sign: "Halt! Restricted Area! US Military Installation!" Kevin looks at Denver, who just smiles. They arrive at Elgin Air Force Base. Denver flashes an SRI badge and guards with M16s wave them in.

16.

INT. WAR GAMES ROOM - DAY Kevin follows everyone in. On the wall are electronic maps of the Soviet Union and the United States. LIEUTENANT (O.S.) Murmansk. Direct hit. 80 megatons. Wind north northwest, 12 miles per hour, fallout over the Vlodov-Mostoy Valley. KEVIN (V.O.) War games. The real deal. Planning strategy for winnable nuclear war. A white cone grows over Murmansk on the map, falling over the cities of the Vlodov-Mostoy Valley. Both maps are dotted with white cones marking areas of destruction. KEVIN (CONT'D) (knee-jerk pride) Hey, those are my cones. LIEUTENANT Two-point one million casualties. Eight hundred thousand dead. Kevin's grin is replaced by concern.

Denver smiles.

DENVER S.R.I. Once again, leading the client into the future. EXT. MENLO PARK - NIGHT A troubled Kevin walks in the rain. KEVIN (V.O.) There comes a time in every man's life when he has to start asking the hard questions. Was I doing what I should be doing? Was I becoming the kind of person I wanted to be? Kevin walks past a fence and OUT OF FRAME. RACK FOCUS ON the building beyond, a huge Pac Bell central office. Kevin walks back INTO FRAME and stares at it. There's an open window off the fire escape. The rain stops. Clouds part above the central office and a shaft of moonlight shines through over the building. HANDEL'S "Messiah" comes up over the SOUNDTRACK. MOVE IN ON the spellbound Kevin. He grabs the fence -- and climbs it. His tie rips on the fence as he goes over.

17.

INT. MENLO PARK CENTRAL OFFICE - NIGHT Kevin walks into the cavernous room, filled floor to vaulted ceiling with ancient wires and machines. He walks through reverentially, old mechanical SWITCHES CLICKING by the thousands. MUSIC UNDER. KEVIN (V.O.) I was inside the brain of the world's most advanced computer. A global web of wires and switches. A lacework connecting us all to every corner of the world. The 1930s wood-paneled walls are church-like. Kevin takes it all in, fingers lightly tracing a wire and lingering on a switch. Colored diodes dance around him like Christmas lights. Kevin finds a Pac Bell computer manual -- and fires up a computer. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) I had finally accepted my calling. Information wants to be free. And I was the agent of its liberation. INT. DUTCH NEIGHBOR'S APARTMENT - DAY Mrs. Haas reviews her bill, looking baffled. CLOSE ON the bill, which reads "Payment due: Credit $400.00." INT. PRISON VISITING AREA - DAY Inmates and families sit at bench tables. Kevin and Ron sit across from each other, talking in low voices. RON Back up, back up. a Central Office? trespassing! A guard walks by.

You broke into That's

They shut up.

The guy moves on.

KEVIN Actually, it's 'B and E.' Though the window was open so it seems like it should just be E. RON Kevin, what the hell are you --? KEVIN (excited whisper) I'm very close. RON Close to what?

18.

KEVIN To giving free phone service to everyone in California for a day. That'll show the phone company they can't just fuck with people. RON You can't do this. KEVIN That's what I wanted to ask you. There doesn't seem to be enough centralized control in the system to relate the clocking to the billing mechanisms -Kevin pulls out a sketch, shielding it as a guard passes. KEVIN (CONT'D) I need to loop every central office in the state together. thought you'd have an idea.

I

RON (pushes sketch away) Can you give me a fucking break? Look where I am here. Where you almost ended up -KEVIN Okay, take it easy. Maybe you'll be in a better frame of mind when you get out. A BUZZER RINGS. It's the end of visiting hours. People around them start saying their good-byes. A guard starts over. They stand. Kevin surreptitiously stuffs the sketch in Ron's pocket. Ron can't believe it. KEVIN (CONT'D) Think of it as a brain teaser. Keep your mind from getting rusty. INT. VONNER'S OFFICE - DAY WYLIE, a shy computer tech, steps in, holding a report. WYLIE Someone's been inside our computers. He's leaving capture files all over the bay area, recording system functions, focusing on the clocking system. A hacker? systems?

VONNER In our systems?

In our

Vonner stands, grabs the report and heads out --

19.

EXT. CENTRAL OFFICE FIRE ESCAPE - LATE NIGHT Coming out a window, Kevin stops when he sees a KITTEN, MEOWING with hunger. He hesitates. Then picks it up. He looks it in the eye. KEVIN I'm a cat burglar now. He puts it in his bag and hops onto a platform, then to the ground. He looks back. The platform was actually a very large '60s era phone console. A dozen of them are laying in a pile around the dumpster. EXT. CENTRAL OFFICE FIRE ESCAPE - LATER AT NIGHT Kevin loads one of the consoles into an SRI van. He yawns. A clock on the bank in the b.g. says 4:00 a.m. EXT. VARIOUS BAY AREA CENTRAL OFFICES - DAY Vonner drives past one central office, then another. He passes the spot where Kevin took the phone console. On the fire escape, he examines a bent window latch -INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - DAY Kevin is asleep. KEVIN (V.O.) When you think about it, I was holding down two full-time jobs. The ALARM BLARES.

Kevin wakes.

It's 9:17 a.m.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) What with making breakfast, driving to work... QUICK FLASHES filling two coffee Thermoses -Speeding in traffic. KEVIN (V.O.) Programming all day, shopping ... Kevin staring at his screen -Grabbing 20 bags of Ramen and a row of macaroni cheese -Pics, key blanks and lock carcasses spread out on the table, Kevin teaches himself to pick locks --

20.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) ... Planning the night's educational activities, doing recon... Kevin scaling a drainpipe to an open window -KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) And it's not like I had weekends off... Kevin waltzes into a CO in broad daylight, wearing a Bell shirt. Friendly workers nod hello -KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) I was lucky if I could catch any z's at all. Kevin driving, nods off at the wheel. Then bolts awake as he swerves to miss an oncoming truck -Clothes are in piles as Kevin rushes out of his house -KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Things were beginning to slip through the cracks. Getting to work on time. Feeding the fish, paying the bill on my storage locker, calling Nani. A goldfish floats belly-up -Grandma Nani sits by the phone -KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Something was bound to give. INT. LOCK & KEY STORAGE - DAY An attendant stands in front of a storage locker with an invoice stamped "Past due." He clips the lock and opens the door revealing a ton of Pac Bell gear and documents. INT. STORAGE LOCKER - DAY The attendant leads Kurt Vonner into the room. FBI AGENT MITCHELL is already here. Mitchell is cut from the same cloth. Forty, big, humorless. They know each other. VONNER What have we got? AGENT MITCHELL It's incredible. The guy's got tons of your stuff. Microfiche cable maps, system tapes -Vonner picks up the clipped lock. on it.

It has Pac Bell's name

21.

MITCHELL Arrogant little shit, isn't he? VONNER Find a name? Five.

AGENT MITCHELL On five Pac Bell I.D.'s.

He shows them to Vonner, who recognizes Kevin's face in the pictures. AGENT MITCHELL (CONT'D) You know this guy? VONNER Yeah. Any evidence of scams? Fraud? Stolen credit card numbers? Mitchell shakes his head no.

Vonner is perplexed.

FBI AGENT But we found this. The FBI agent hands Vonner a photo: A self-portrait of Kevin inside a central office, smiling for the camera as he sits at a Pac Bell computer. INT. KEVIN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY FBI Agents sweep inside, grabbing Kevin and cuffing him. KEVIN Hey! What the hell are you -- Ow! You can't do this! Mitchell waves a warrant. Oh shit.

Vonner walks in.

KEVIN (CONT'D)

Kevin slumps in a chair as his couch cushions are sliced open. An agent waves a bomb detector wand over his computer, then dismantles it. Vonner finds two ID's and brings them to Mitchell. An SRI security clearance badge and a pass for Elgin Air Force Base. Jesus. these?

MITCHELL What's he doing with

KEVIN They're from my job. VONNER And are these from your job? He shows the Pac Bell IDs from Kevin's locker.

22.

KEVIN That's more like a hobby. people collect stamps --

Some

An FBI Agent picks up something from under a table. Sir!

FBI AGENT He's got an F.B.I. badge!

Mitchell is upset, until another agent checks his pocket. ANOTHER AGENT Uh, no, that's, uh, that's mine. Mitchell and Vonner go to a corner to talk as agents tear up the place. Mitchell is very concerned. MITCHELL This guy, working for a military think tank? VONNER He needs to have his wings clipped. INT. PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE - DAY Kevin and his parents watch a PUBLIC DEFENDER look over Kevin's file. PUBLIC DEFENDER The preliminary charges are extensive. Multiple counts of B&E, theft -Mrs. Poulsen slaps Kevin upside the head. KEVIN Ow! All I did was take stuff they were throwing out -MR. POULSEN They don't prosecute for stealing garbage! KEVIN Well, apparently they do, Dad, 'cause that's all I took. Both parents roll their eyes in disgust. continues reading.

The PD

PUBLIC DEFENDER Twenty-seven counts of unlawful possession of access codes -KEVIN That law is for stolen credit card numbers -- not passwords!

23.

PUBLIC DEFENDER Possession of a stolen F.B.I. badge -What?

KEVIN

PUBLIC DEFENDER And... it says you had the Soviet embassy's unlisted phone number. KEVIN ... Okay. This is going to sound - I was going to give free phone service to everyone in California, except the Russians. (as they stare uncomprehending) On account of the invasion of Afghanistan. Hey, will the grand jury go with these charges? PUBLIC DEFENDER The grand jury would indict a ham sandwich if the government said the mayonnaise had gone bad. (tosses the file down) It's charge the defendant with every crime you can think of and see if he can prove his innocence. The short of it is... you could be facing twenty years. KEVIN Twenty years?! Mr. and Mrs. Poulsen are stunned. MR. POULSEN But... it was just garbage. MRS. POULSEN Kevin didn't hurt anyone. would never hurt anyone.

Kevin

She bursts into tears and hugs a surprised Kevin. MR. POULSEN They can't do this. We'll hock the house if we have to. Get a good lawyer -- no offense. We'll fight this thing, Kevin. INT. HIGH-PRICED LAW FIRM LOBBY - DAY Expensive floors. Expensive walls. Expensive art. Kevin and his parents look small and out of place, crowded on one end of an 18-foot couch, waiting.

24.

KEVIN (V.O.) Who were we kidding? My dad's mortgage against the resources of the federal government? Ron tried that and ended up neighbors with the Hillside Strangler. I wasn't a criminal. How could they do this to me? INT. HACKER CONFERENCE - DAY The hall is filled with post-pubescent geniuses. KEVIN (V.O.) The answer is they were afraid. There was a movement spreading across the country: hackers guided by the principle that information should be free. The SPEAKER holds up a report to arrogant applause. SPEAKER ...And despite official government reports to the contrary, these Department of Energy documents, hacked by Phiber Optik, who may be here among us, I hope so, show numerous radiation leaks from the Hanford Nuclear Research Facility over a period of 20 years. KEVIN (V.O.) Corporations and the government were becoming more and more insecure. SPEAKER And now it's time for your favorite game and mine: Who's the fed?! Groups in the audience stand and point to three people. CLOSE ON one of them, caught like a deer in headlights. KEVIN (V.O.) No one was permitted to look behind the curtain. Examples would have to be made. Kurt Vonner stands with a group in the back, very grim. MONTAGE - THREE CUTS OF ADOLESCENT HACKERS BEING RAIDED Hacker #1 is raided by the FBI, his room ransacked. Hacker #2 hides in a closet, afraid, as the FBI opens it. Hacker #3, unwashed, in a messy room, tries to continue, still clutching his keyboard, as the FBI drags him off --

25.

KEVIN (V.O.) A nationwide hacker crackdown was on. The Legion of Doom was arrested, accused of hacking Southwest Bell's 411 call network document from their mainframe. INT. COURTROOM - DAY The prosecutor holds the 411 document aloft dramatically. KEVIN (V.O.) After their sentencing it was discovered the same document was available by mail order from Southwest Bell for $1.80. Plus shipping. INT. ANOTHER COURTROOM - DAY Three scared hackers sit in the docket, in prison orange. KEVIN (V.O.) The Barrel of Monkeys downloaded a word processing program and were charged with damages totaling the cost of writing the program. Forty million dollars. INT. COURTROOM - DAY Kevin's arraignment. A judge, the D.A., Mitchell, Vonner. And Kevin's lawyer, at the defense table. KEVIN (V.O.) If that's what they did to pranksters and novice hackers, what would they do to somebody who really could do everything they were afraid of? I decided not to make it to the arraignment. I was hoping nobody would notice. The seat next to Kevin's lawyer is empty. Vonner stands, infuriated, and walks out.

Kevin's seat.

INT. POULSEN HOME - DAY Upset, Kevin's mom, dad, and Nani watch the news. ANGLE ON TV In front of the Federal Courthouse, Mitchell holds up a copy of the indictments, Vonner next to him.

26.

VONNER (V.O.) (on TV) Mr. Poulsen's actions should cause us all grave concern. He was found to be in possession of sensitive phone company and military documents and equipment. MITCHELL (V.O.) (on TV) He's a criminal fugitive and we will find him. MONTAGE With JANE'S ADDICTION'S "Been Caught Stealing": Kevin rips up his driver's license and gets in a U-Haul. Driving down a ribbonous highway, cat in his lap. KEVIN (V.O.) You may think going underground is glamorous. Passing the LA skyline on the 10 freeway. Driving amidst the endless, anonymous valley boulevards. At the Hall of Records, looking through huge, old books. In a small apartment, filling out forms. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) But mostly it's paperwork. New Social Security card. New driver's license. On a long line at the DMV. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) New B.M.G. record club. In his apartment, sullen, sitting in a La-Z-Boy. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) You can't call friends. You can't visit family. But there is one thing you've got going for you when you're not you anymore. You can be anyone you want to be. In the bathroom, Kevin wets his hair.

27.

EXT. SUNSET BOULEVARD - NIGHT DEPECHE MODE'S "Personal Jesus" PLAYS on the SOUNDTRACK as Kevin, now with platinum blonde hair, cowboy boots, black leather and cool sunglasses, crosses Sunset to the Rainbow Bar and Grill. There's a line and a BOUNCER at the door. He stops by two beautiful ROCKER CHICKS. KEVIN You ladies do not have to wait. Come with me. Somewhat skeptical, they go with him. Linking arms, they approach the Bouncer. Kevin gives him a card with Arista Records' name and logo. KEVIN (CONT'D) Kevin Locke, Arista Records. Guest of the band. BOUNCER You're not on the list. KEVIN No one's supposed to know I'm here. (leans in, sotto) In fact, I'd appreciate it if anyone from M.C.A. or Columbia asks, I'm not. The Bouncer looks at the women on Kevin's arms. INT. RAINBOW BAR AND GRILL - DAY Kevin enters with the women, who are very impressed. place is full, the music loud.

The

ROCKER CHICK #1 This friend of mine? He's in this great band, Rectal Damage? You should hear them. KEVIN I'm not really a record executive. I said that to get us in. So what are your names? Oh.

ROCKER CHICK #1 Uh, thanks for getting us in.

He starts to speak, but they head out. He walks through the club, trying to look cool and catch the eyes of the women. Each time he smiles they look away. Uninterested. Bored. Contemptuous. Kevin spots a WOMAN drinking alone. Black hair. Black dress. Black lips. KEVIN Get her another of whatever she's having.

28.

The Bartender brings her the drink and nods at Kevin, who sidles up. Hi.

KEVIN (CONT'D) My name's Kevin.

WOMAN And why do I give a fuck? KEVIN I -- I don't know, maybe -WOMAN Ah. The decisive type. enough to be drinking?

You old

She spots a LONG-HAIRED rocker. The rocker notices her look, but turns away, uninterested. She goes over to him. The Bartender smirks as Kevin pays for the drink. BARTENDER And what can I get for you? KEVIN (checks his meager cash) Water. On the rocks. INT. KEVIN'S VAN - NIGHT Kevin is driving, lost in thought, RADIO ON. D.J. (V.O.) (over radio) ... Keep listening and when we say call, be caller 25 to win 25 hundred dollars. That's right... Kevin thinks about that. EXT. SMALL DESERTED PARK - NIGHT Ron waits nervously in the dim light.

Kevin approaches.

KEVIN You sure you weren't followed? Yeah.

RON Yeah, I'm sure.

They smile. KEVIN It's good to see you. EXT. SAME LOCATION - MINUTES LATER Kevin and Ron walking.

29.

KEVIN Radio contests use unlisted numbers to handle call overflow, right? We tap into Pac Bell's Cosmos computer, cut off the overflow connections -No.

RON

KEVIN -- While the rest of the world has only one line to call we have all the others. Come on, it'll be like old times -RON You're a fugitive, for Christ's sake. You ever hear the expression 'lay low'? KEVIN Exactly the point. I can't get a regular job. Ron, we're talking trips to the Virgin Islands. And from what I hear, that's a misnomer. RON The F.B.I. came to see me. Really.

KEVIN What'd you tell them?

RON That as an ex-felon I wasn't stupid enough to associate with a federal fugitive. We had a lot of fun, Kevin. But I'm going back to school. I'm going to be a physicist. KEVIN I guess that means you won't help me break into a few central offices so I can keep tabs on what the Feds are up to. RON It's taken me this long to get used to the nose I have now. Kevin. Aren't you wondering where you'll be in five years? KEVIN Listen to you. A free nose job and all you do is complain. That nose is a much better nose than the other one.

30.

INT. RAINBOW BAR AND GRILL - NIGHT Kevin with two bored Rocker Chicks, looking anywhere but at him. KEVIN I see you're having a problem matching my charming, boyish exterior with the fiery outlaw within. I can fix that. How would you girls like to make $1,200? Intrigued, the Rocker Chicks look at Kevin. KEVIN (CONT'D) Can you squeal? INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - LATER The Rocker Chicks watch Kevin dial two phones at the same time, lightning-fast. His computer dials a third. On STEREO SPEAKERS we hear: "You're twenty- three!" CLICK. "Twenty-four!" CLICK. Kevin points to a phone and turns OFF the RADIO. Rocker Chick #1 picks up. ROCKER CHICK #1 Janine Lennington... No! I won?! I won?! She squeals. Holy shit. time?

ROCKER CHICK #2 You can do that every

KEVIN No. But most times. The problem is I can't go in to get the money myself more than once. Do you by chance know anyone else that may be willing to lend a hand? MONTAGE Radio station photos FLOAT and CROSS FADE ACROSS the SCREEN: Surrounded by station personnel, sexy Rocker Chick after sexy Rocker Chick hold up their contest prizes -- cash, checks, plane tickets. INT. BEN FRANK'S RESTAURANT - NIGHT Kevin turns to a booth he is sharing with Ron. Ron spots a crew-cut driver parking and talking into a radio mic. He points, nervously. Kevin pulls scanner from a bag. KEVIN Relax, he's not F.B.I. I'm always scanning F.B.I. frequencies.

31.

Two more beautiful women pass, saying hi and kissing Kevin's cheek. RON Jesus Christ, you're popular. KEVIN Only among women with good taste. RON You're not getting laid by any of them, are you? A woman catching up to her friends drops off an envelope with cash and kisses Kevin. He watches her walk off -into the arms of the handsome, long-haired guy we saw at the club. RON (CONT'D) What happened to rule number one: The hacker never hacks for profit? KEVIN Rule number one is: There are no rules. As far as the code goes, I'm not stealing. RON What do you call taking money that doesn't belong to you? KEVIN I'm not taking it. They're giving it to me. And they get what they want, which is advertising. No harm, no foul. RON What about the guy who would have won? KEVIN Find him. Ask him if he'd do the same thing. The Long-Haired guy slides in next to Ron, wearing a suede duster. He looks straight at Kevin. LONG-HAIR Kevin Locke. I'm Justin Petersen. Kevin takes the offered hand, but says nothing. studies Justin. I'm Ron.

He

RON

Justin barely acknowledges Ron.

He looks back at Kevin.

32.

JUSTIN (LONG-HAIR) We have a lot to talk about. First of all, I'm the dude the chicks are spending the money on every time you score with a radio station. You're getting paid and I'm getting laid. I just got back from the Virgin Islands. Ring a bell? I think we have some stuff we can teach each other. KEVIN I'm getting by just fine. JUSTIN That brings me to the second thing. When I heard about a Kevin winning radio contests by taking over phone lines, it got me wondering. Could it be that legend of the hacker underground? That phone freak extraordinaire? And lo and behold. He throws down an old copy of LA Magazine with photos of Kevin and Ron at the time of their Arpanet hacker feats. JUSTIN (CONT'D) It's a privilege to meet you. Don't worry. Friends in the know call me Agent Steel. As in: 'nerves of.' I'm a hacker, too. A great hacker, like you. RON Then how come we've never heard of you? Justin looks at Ron, then at Ron's picture in the magazine, making the connection for the first time. JUSTIN Hey... you're... RON Ron Austin. JUSTIN (as they shake) Right. Well, Ron, you don't know about me because I'm not dumb enough to let someone feature me in a magazine. To be a truly great hacker, Ron, you need to know more than how computer systems work. You need to understand the way the world works. (to Kevin) I know what it is to be on the run. (MORE)

33.

JUSTIN (CONT'D) I've got a Texas warrant out on me for a little run-in with Southwest Bell. It's crazy. These people are so paranoid. They don't understand a guy who's just trying to get an education. He laughs.

Kevin smiles, nodding. JUSTIN (CONT'D) Here's one thing I can teach you. Any unorthodox income generating scheme that relies on the use of too many people is very hairy. You're lucky it's me sitting here and not an F.B.I. agent. KEVIN Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. JUSTIN No thanks necessary. We're hackers. Here's another freebie: No chick who sticks jewelry in her lip and tattoos her tit wants flowers. These girls aren't for you. You can't show them warm and fuzzy, not up front anyway. But we'll find you somebody.

INT./EXT. RON'S FIREBIRD - NIGHT Ron driving, Kevin next to him. Justin in back, headphones on, mumbling the verses along with "Gloria," then screaming the chorus: G! L! O! R! shout shout

O! I! it it

JUSTIN R! I! A! Gloria! G! L! A! Gloria! I'm gonna all night. I'm gonna every day!

RON 'Agent Steel.' 'As in nerves of.' This is a mistake. KEVIN It's not like I can walk into an employment office and put up a 'B&E partner wanted' notice. Besides, I checked him out. Cyclops says he's done some real hacking. JUSTIN (removes headphones) I have the feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Kevin and Ron smile and nod as he goes back to the music.

34.

KEVIN He's a little out there, but he's a hacker. His heart's in the right place. And I need someone to watch my back. They approach a central office. Ron pulls over. He stares at the Federal Building, just two blocks away. KEVIN (CONT'D) Hey, if they can raid my house, tap my phones, keep tabs on me, why can't I keep tabs on them? RON This is as far as I go. EXT. CENTRAL OFFICE - NIGHT Kevin boosts Justin to a ledge and tosses up the bag. Justin lifts him up. Climbing on Justin's shoulders, Kevin shimmies open a window. INT. CENTRAL OFFICE HALLWAY Justin and Kevin look around -- and a security guard comes around the corner. Justin sees him and pushes Kevin into an alcove before the guard sees them. Kevin and Justin are silent as the guy walks by, inches away. They cross the hall to a door. Justin keeps a lookout as Kevin defeats a mechanical push-button lock, divining the numbers by feeling the tumblers. It opens. Nice.

JUSTIN You'll have to teach me.

INT. FRAME ROOM - NIGHT Kevin works the computer as Justin watches. JUSTIN What makes you think they know you're in L.A.? KEVIN They're thinking, 'he'll go where he feels comfortable, where he knows the terrain.' Eventually they'll get frustrated and look back up north. Kevin punches up a record for FBI San Francisco. "Extension 57 -- Joseph Mitchell." There's a code and a number. 213 area code. KEVIN (CONT'D) There. Mitchell has his number forwarded to L.A. F.B.I. (MORE)

35.

KEVIN (CONT'D) I hope they gave him a nice office. F.B.I. taps for all of California flow through this C.O. Let's see what they've got cooking. (a number appears) There. That's my parents' number. Nothing on Ron, though. That's good. JUSTIN This is really cool. EXT. SHOPPING MALL - DAY Mrs. Poulsen and a FRIEND get out of a car. Mitchell and Vonner intercept them. Mitchell flashes his badge. MITCHELL We know where your son is. going to get him today.

We're

VONNER One way or the other. MRS. POULSEN What do you mean? MITCHELL We want you to convince him not to resist. MRS. POULSEN I'm not... I don't... You talk like he's some kind of dangerous criminal! VONNER It would've been better for him if you'd told us yourself where he was. MRS. POULSEN He never said where he was. 'somewhere in the Valley.' Ann!

Just

FRIEND Don't say anything else.

There's a long pause as they all look at each other. MRS. POULSEN You didn't even know he was in L.A., did you? You have no idea where he is. (pause) What kind of people are you? MITCHELL I'm sorry if we inconvenienced you.

36.

MRS. POULSEN Inconvenienced me? Mrs. Poulsen stands there looking lost as Mitchell and Vonner walk off. VONNER I think that'll get his attention. INT. RAINBOW BAR AND GRILL - NIGHT Kevin watches from across the room as Justin hits on a purple-haired WOMAN with a great body. She walks away. He pursues her. She shoves her finger in his face. He laughs and grabs her arm. She knees him in the groin. He stops laughing. Kevin walks over. KEVIN I see what you mean about hiding your warm and fuzzy side. JUSTIN (holding his crotch) 'Fuck off' usually means 'fuck me.' Now I know. If they say fuck off 'asshole' you have to watch out. (sees Kevin eyeing her) Go for it. But buy a cup first. Kevin walks over as she's putting her jacket on to leave. KEVIN I hope I'm not being too forward, but how'd you like to go see a movie or something sometime? WOMAN Seeing me knee somebody in the crotch turn you on? 'Cause if you want... KEVIN It was the grace and style that you did it with that I found enchanting. She pours a few ice cubes into her mouth and crunches them like popcorn. Kevin watches her, rapt. Okay.

WOMAN Ice broken.

Now what?

KEVIN That's very sexy. (She shrugs, agreeing) You're lead guitar and vocals for the Meths. I heard you at the Filmore. Great stuff. (MORE)

37.

KEVIN (CONT'D) Not a lot of punk bands have the imagery to match the energy. That song 'All's Done,' the line about the Guatemalan soldier impaling babies like Popsicles -WOMAN I wrote that -KEVIN Reminded me of Billy Holiday's 'Strange Fruit.' WOMAN Somebody finally fucking got that... Cool... Crystal. Kevin.

KEVIN

CRYSTAL (WOMAN) What are you into, Kevin? Computers.

KEVIN

CRYSTAL You do have that sun-starved look. You any good? Do you do MIDI? Sound tools? KEVIN You'd be surprised what I can make a computer do. CRYSTAL Maybe you could show me sometime. INT. SWITCH ROOM - DAY Kevin, in a Pac Bell uniform, is in a small switch room, a lineman's phone connected to a set of wires inside a frame box. He dials. INT. FBI OFFICE AT THE FEDERAL BUILDING - DAY Vonner's geek technician, Wylie, sits at a computer engrossed in a novel. Vonner and Mitchel are organizing evidence amidst piles of Kevin's stuff from the raid. MITCHELL I doubt Justice wants to stick its neck out on an espionage charge. They'd be afraid the grand jury won't buy it.

38.

VONNER They'll buy it. We'll paint them a picture of Poulsen soaking up military secrets by day and breaching the communications infrastructure by night. Calling up the Soviets and offering to -The secretary raps on the glass wall mouthing "It's him." Wylie snaps to attention. Vonner auto dials a phone. VONNER (CONT'D) Get me Spaulding at L.A.P.D. dispatch... We're tracing, Bill. Hold for the location. MITCHELL (picks up his phone) Kevin. Long time. Wylie hits a button on the computer. WYLIE Thirty seconds. INTERCUT WITH: INT. SWITCH ROOM KEVIN What's with harassing my parents? MITCHELL I understand how you feel. If I had my parents mixed up in a series of crimes I'd feel the same way. KEVIN The worst crime my mother ever committed was swearing when she stepped on a nail. This whole thing has been blown way out of proportion. MITCHELL Why don't you come on in and we can talk about that? WYLIE Twenty seconds. KEVIN That's why I called. I'm willing to come in if you'll agree to reasonable charges, instead of helping Vonner and Pac Bell ream me.

39.

MITCHELL Getting a little paranoid? That happens when you're on the run. KEVIN The good thing about being paranoid is I know better than to trust the people conspiring against me. MITCHELL It's not a conspiracy when the government does it, Kevin. It's a coordinated effort. Wylie flashes ten. Vonner hands his phone to Wylie. MITCHELL (CONT'D) Get this straight. The F.B.I. does not make deals with fugitives and terrorists. KEVIN Hey, fuck you! If the F.B.I. is such a noble and virtuous organization how come you tell the public there aren't more than 200 phone taps at any one time in the whole country and right now there's 182 in L.A. alone? MITCHELL (blanches, pause) I don't know what you're talking about. KEVIN Yeah, you do. Listen, you want to get in touch with me, call my voice mail: 674-7135. An address appears on Wylie's screen. the phone. WYLIE 11,200 Wilshire! Shit!

He screams into

11,200 Wilshire!

VONNER

Mitchell slaps his head and leans back, defeated. What?

WYLIE

MITCHELL That's this building! VONNER He rerouted.

40.

WYLIE But this program can trace that! KEVIN You guys having technical problems? Anything I can do? MITCHELL (into phone) You think it's funny, you piece of shit? You... I've got nothing more to say to you! KEVIN Aw, don't go. Put Vonner on. Let's all chat. Hey, how about those Dodgers? MITCHELL Just remember, Kevin, nobody stays on the run forever. Mitchell hangs up. INT. SWITCH ROOM - DAY Kevin hangs up, troubled by Mitchell's words. the small switch room into --

He exits

INT. CROWDED LOBBY TRACKING Kevin, we see this is the Federal Building! EXT. FEDERAL BUILDING Police CARS SCREECH to a halt at the curb. Vonner and Mitchell exit to tell them it's a false alarm. Kevin walks right behind them, and heads across the lot. INT. CENTRAL OFFICE - DAY Mitchell and Vonner walk through, passing the console where Kevin discovered the FBI taps. Agents dust everywhere for fingerprints. MITCHELL I want this room locked down! I want this C.O. covered 24 hours! I want... I want... Cut off Poulsen's voicemail!... An FBI AGENT comes in, and goes to Mitchell with a fax. FBI AGENT It's from Justice. The Attorney General says proceed on the espionage charge.

41.

VONNER We're gonna keep him so far the fuck away from being able to do anything like this ever again, he'll dream about the day he could pick up a phone and call anybody. INT. KEVIN'S VAN - NIGHT Kevin HONKS. Ron comes out of his house and jumps in. He hands Ron sleep blinders. Ron looks at him confused. KEVIN It's better if you don't know where I live. (off Ron's look) It's nothing personal. I don't care if you know. But if someone asks you who shouldn't know it'd be better to, you know, just not know. RON I can't believe this. (puts it on) How does Crystal react to being blindfolded? KEVIN She doesn't know who I am, so she can know where I live. You know who I am, so -- I mean, she knows who I am. Just not the details. This is a period of my life where I need some compartmentalization. Ron is silent. KEVIN (CONT'D) You're really going to like her. She's amazing. An incredible guitar player. They drive along in more silence. KEVIN (CONT'D) You're mad. Forget it. Just take it off. RON I'd rather not. KEVIN No, it's silly. RON No, you're right. I don't want to be in a position where I can cause you any harm. (beat) (MORE)

42.

RON (CONT'D) You know, you can't stay underground forever. KEVIN I don't have to. Just long enough for the winds to change. (off Ron's "look") In a few years everyone will own a computer and be accessing information anywhere on the planet. These idiots are fighting the greatest democratizing force since the printing press. Eventually they'll deal with it. They'll have to. All I have to do is wait it out. RON What exactly does Crystal think you do? KEVIN Programming. But she thinks I'm very creative and I should do more with my life. RON Nag, nag, nag. Well, if she can't accept you for who you aren't, maybe she's not for you. INT. KEVIN'S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT Kevin, Ron and Crystal sit at a picnic table, eating. The settings are a garage sale amalgam. Crystal is clicking a curling iron open and shut near her ear. RON This is tasty. meat?

What's the crunchy

CRYSTAL Chicken feet. Ninety-nine cents a pound. She notices Ron staring at her clicking the curling iron. CRYSTAL (CONT'D) I'm collecting sounds. KEVIN For the band. Found sounds. Found instruments. RON Like The Ministry. CRYSTAL And other bands. But it's always chainsaws, jackhammers, drills. Guy noises. Noises guys imagine their penises would like to make.

43.

RON Well it's hard having a mute penis. I wish my penis would speak up once in a while. CRYSTAL I want female sounds. When I take the sound of the curler opening and amplify it a thousand times every woman in the audience will remember waking up three hours before school to curl her hair because someone said straight hair isn't popular. KEVIN I've got her all set up on the computer. CRYSTAL I couldn't have picked a better job for him than Kurzweil Synthesizers. He just dials them up and the next thing you know I've got the latest program updates. RON That is convenient. KEVIN That's all I am to you, isn't it? A meal ticket to better software. He leans over and kisses her.

She kisses him back.

INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - FRONT DOOR - NIGHT Crystal grabs her guitar as she heads for the door. CRYSTAL We've got a gig at Jabber Jaw Friday and we are so not prepared. She kisses Kevin, a nervous bundle, and leaves. RON She's very cool. Kevin nods. INT. KEVIN'S ROOM - RON AND KEVIN walking in. RON So how's your family?

44.

KEVIN I don't know. Fuckers cut off my voicemail. I want to show you something. I got an idea for a low profile revenue stream. He opens a Yellow Pages and points to an ad: Escort Service." Kevin dials the number.

"Society

RON What are you doing? INT. HENRY SPIEGEL'S DINGY APARTMENT - NIGHT HENRY SPIEGEL, 50s, gray ponytail, in torn AC/DC T-shirt and cutoffs, is zoned out on a couch, bong smoldering on his potbelly. A HOOKER is zoned out in a chair. The PHONE RINGS, bringing Henry back to the planet. HENRY You up for a trick? Or I can call Diane. (picks up) Society Escorts, can I help you? INTERCUT WITH: INT. KEVIN'S ROOM KEVIN The question is if you want me to help you, Mr. Spiegel. HENRY Carlos, don't fucking call on this line, man. Viki, it's Carlos. KEVIN Henry! We've never met. Call me Mr. Smith. I'm calling with a proposition -- and a warning. RON What the hell are you doing? Kevin shushes him. HENRY Who the fuck is this? KEVIN Pay attention, Henry. Pacific Bell has been tapping your phone and handing off the recording to police. Kevin flips a switch on his recording equipment.

45.

HENRY (V.O.) (on tape) I think you think I don't know what's what? Well listen, every time you get laid, I want my $152.50. HOOKER (V.O.) (on tape) You think everyone lives to screw you, 'cause you screw us with a lousy percentage. Lousy, Henry. Lousy! KEVIN My advice? Black bag your house. I'll be in touch with the proposition. Kevin hangs up.

STAY WITH Henry.

HENRY Fuck! Fuck! Viki, we've got to get rid of everything. Come on! The ledger's in there! The address book! The condoms! No! Leave the condoms... You! Jesus, get out! Out. INT. KEVIN'S ROOM Ron looks at Kevin, stupefied.

Kevin smiles, broadly.

KEVIN Pretty cool, huh? I read in the Times how the cops are shutting down escort services preparing for the Republican convention -RON (puts on blindfold, covers his ears) Don't tell me. I'd like to go home now. Just hand me my donkey's tail, spin me around, and send me on my way. INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - DAY An alert Henry does the Times crossword. There's a KNOCK on the door. He opens it and the COPS sweep in. COP Henry Spiegel. This is a search warrant. Stand to one side and do not interfere. HENRY Yeah, okay. Whatever. Can I get you guys some coffee or something?

46.

EXT. POLICE STATION - LATE AFTERNOON Henry comes out, a smile on his face. As he passes a bank of PHONES, one RINGS. He stops and picks it up. KEVIN (V.O.) (over phone) How's it hanging, Henry? HENRY They were so sure, they had the papers written up! It was beautiful. What was your name again? KEVIN (V.O.) (over phone) Mr. Smith. HENRY Yeah, okay, so the question now is, what can I do for you, John? ANGLE ON KEVIN at pay phone around the corner, watching Henry THROUGH the reflection on a side pane of his parked van. INTERCUT. KEVIN Open the Yellow Pages to page 376. (as Henry does) That's your two-line ad bottom left. What'd you pay? Twelve hundred? HENRY Twelve fifty. KEVIN Now look at those big ads around yours, for services that have been shut down by the cops. What if I turned their numbers back on and had them all ring at your place? Henry flips page after page of ads for escort services. Jesus.

HENRY

KEVIN Billboard, newspaper and Yellow Page ads. Half a million in free advertising.

47.

INT. HENRY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Business is booming. PHONES RING off the hook. Henry's assistant, a GRITTY OLDER WOMAN, talks on a phone. GRITTY OLDER WOMAN How tall are you?... Blond? MONTAGE Tawdry guys and hot women look at Billboards and peruse ads. One after another they pick up the phone and dial. KEVIN (V.O.) I get a $20 commission for each date. HENRY (V.O.) Twenty dollars? No problem. KEVIN (V.O.) Your commission's the same. What?!

HENRY (V.O.) That's chicken shit!

KEVIN (V.O.) What you lose in percentage you'll make up for in volume. Fair's fair, Henry. After all, the women are doing most of the work. EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY We're back at the pay phone with Henry. KEVIN (V.O.) (over phone) And Henry. Don't fuck with me. I'll be listening. CLICK.

DIAL TONE.

INT. KEVIN'S VAN - DAY Ron's got the blindfold on. RON You're going to get in real trouble working with these people. KEVIN How? No one ever sees me or knows my name. All I've got is a P.O. box where Henry drops the money. It's perfect.

48.

RON This isn't radio contests. a pimp. A high tech pimp. this for you.

You're I got

He pulls a '70s lavender "pimp hat," compete with feather, from a bag and, feeling around, shoves it on Kevin's head. RON (CONT'D) It's got a spot under the brim where you can hide computer disks. There's the mirror. Take a look. This is you now. KEVIN The women call us. This is totally consensual. And here's the beauty part: Low overhead. Advertising costs are eliminated, so I keep our middleman costs down and can pay my girls better than anyone. They love Mr. Smith. RON Listen to yourself. 'Your girls.' This is a slippery slope. INT. AGENT MITCHELL'S OFFICE - DAY Vonner gets off the phone, throwing down a document: "Bergstom Air Force Base - Air Tasking Orders." VONNER Colonel Mon says Poulsen had it in relation to his work for them at S.R.I. He insists it's not a classified document. MITCHELL They're bombing targets, for Christ's sake. It has to be classified. We need something juicy for the grand jury. VONNER Let's try this guy, Major Lockleider. I've talked with him. He's likely to be sympathetic. Maybe he'd be willing to see it our way. He pulls out a business card and reaches for the phone. Wylie walks in, frustrated. He takes the phone from Vonner's hand and dials. WYLIE He's set up a new voicemail. I can't find it to turn it off.

49.

He hands the phone to Vonner, who listens. 2001.

It's Hal from

HAL FROM 2001 (V.O.) (on phone speaker) Dave, I know you and Frank were planning on disconnecting me, and that is something I just cannot allow to happen. BEEEEP.

Vonner's jaw tightens.

But then he smiles.

VONNER Let him have his fun. Me, I'm looking forward to meeting Robert Stack. INT. TV PRODUCTION STUDIO - DAY ROBERT STACK shakes Vonner's and Mitchell's hands. VONNER This is going to be an enormous help to us. ROBERT STACK That's what we're here for. INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Crystal and Kevin watch the "Simpsons" over Ramen noodles. They laugh at a joke about Homer's drinking. CRYSTAL I don't know why I think this is so funny. My dad was an idiot and an alcoholic. I didn't think it was funny then. A commercial comes on. typing at a computer.

Docudrama images of a youth

ROBERT STACK (V.O.) (on TV) He was a teenage computer hacker who went on to work for a government military contractor with full security clearance... Kevin's eyes go wide when his photograph appears. Crystal looks up from her Ramen, which she's just had a mouthful of -- Kevin grabs her head and kisses her, one eye on the TV. She chokes a bit and laughs. CRYSTAL You could at least let me finish what's in my mouth. She kisses Kevin passionately, taking off his shirt. Kevin looks at the TV. Robert Stack stares back at him.

50.

ROBERT STACK (V.O.) (on TV) ... The strange tale of Kevin Poulsen, computer genius run amok. Tomorrow night. On 'Unsolved Mysteries.' KEVIN (gets up) I need to go for a walk. CRYSTAL What's wrong? Nothing.

KEVIN Everything's fine.

She watches as he grabs his jacket and heads out the door, leaving her in the lurch. What the fuck... ? INT. RON'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Kevin paces.

He and Ron both have beers in their hands.

KEVIN Tomorrow, my face will be broadcast on national television. Do you know how many people watch that show? Millions. Why can't they just leave me alone? RON Call me madcap, but I think when you listened in on their phone taps you pretty much nixed the let's-leave-Kevin-alone option. KEVIN I could cut the uplink cables so that the show doesn't broadcast. RON You could. But then you'd guarantee yourself an appearance on every other episode of 'Unsolved Mysteries.' KEVIN Maybe I can just go into hiding for a couple of weeks. No one remembers what they see on television two weeks later. RON What about your neighbors? They don't have to remember for two weeks. If one of them sees it, they'll just call the cops.

51.

KEVIN I came to you for suggestions, not so you could sit there shooting down mine. RON I'm not going to help you dig your own grave. Everything you do is just one more fuck you to them. Sometimes you just have to accommodate yourself to a bad situation. KEVIN There is always a workaround. RON Today I went to apply for a physics internship. You know what the counselor told me? They don't place felons. So what do you think my chances are of getting a job after I graduate? What's my workaround? KEVIN What do you want me to do? Agree we should just roll over and die? I'm not going to do that. That's not going to happen. EXT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT Ron is waiting by the van when all the lights of the building suddenly go out. That's weird. A few beats and a smiling Kevin comes out with oversized wire cutters. KEVIN I don't think the neighbors will be watching. Awed by Kevin's gall, Ron follows him into the van. INT. MOTEL 6 ROOM - NIGHT A computer is already set up. Kevin is hacking. On his screen it says: "PAC BELL COSMOS SYSTEM SECURE MODE." "Unsolved Mysteries" is ON.

It's the last few moments.

ROBERT STACK (V.O.) (on TV) If you have any information on Kevin Poulsen's whereabouts, call the number on your screen right now. Perhaps you will be the one to help the F.B.I. catch him. The number flashes.

Kevin can't see it from his angle.

52.

KEVIN What's the number?... Ron! RON (begrudgingly) 358-9904. Kevin types the number.

Smiling, he hits enter.

INT. OFFICES OF UNSOLVED MYSTERIES - NIGHT Vonner and Mitchell pace nervously. OPERATORS wait for the phones to ring. Not a single one does. One of the Operators checks her phone. OPERATOR #1 The phone's dead. Mine, too.

OPERATOR #2

A producer picks up one phone, then another and another, at a loss. Vonner and Mitchell look at each other. INT. MOTEL 6 ROOM - NIGHT Kevin reads old Pac Bell manuals on his bed, his cat curled up with him. He's focused on a photo of a pristine '60s machine, a grey metal console. Underneath is the name: "S.A.S. - SUBTEST ASSIGNMENT SYSTEM." The PHONE RINGS. It's set up through his computer. On the screen, we see the call has been routed through a series of other numbers. He answers. Kurzweil. A KNOCK. produce.

KEVIN

Kevin goes to the door. It's Ron with a bag of Kevin puts his finger to his lips. CRYSTAL (V.O.) (over phone) This is so fucked up. How could you not know you had to go to Rhode Island for two weeks? KEVIN How could I know the Steel Wheels tour would be extended? The Stones are our biggest account. I'm just glad this is their last tour.

Ron shakes his head in disgust. CRYSTAL (V.O.) (over phone) First you're acting all weird. Then you leave without warning -(MORE)

53.

CRYSTAL (V.O.) (CONT'D) (beat, softly) You were supposed to help me with the different lipstick case sounds. KEVIN I know, honey, I'm sorry. I wish I was with you, Crystal. I do. I'll be home soon. You want anything from Rhode Island? CRYSTAL (V.O.) (over phone) Just you. Kevin falls back on his bed, weary of the lies. INT. PAC BELL SECURITY HEADQUARTERS - DAY Seven COMPUTER MISFITS slouch around a room filled with high-tech computers. Vonner hands each of them an envelope. They pull out checks and express surprise in a variety of dysfunctional ways. Mitchell stands in a corner. VONNER We're paying what we're paying for your talents, for you to keep your mouths shut and for one single overriding purpose: to catch Kevin Poulsen. COMPUTER MISFIT #1 What's our group designation? You know, the name of our little club? VONNER The Internet Security Group. UGLY The 'I.S.G.' Cool. SORCERER I like 'Phreaks for the Feds.' COMPUTER MISFIT #1 Look much better on a T-shirt. Vonner looks at SORCERER: wearing all black, goatee, long hair, in a duster, and carrying a skull-tipped cane. Vonner is worried. SUBNORMAL Don't fry your RAM, Mr. Vonner. We've spent way more time with computers than people, but that's what gives us the edge.

54.

COMPUTER MISFIT #2 (kisses his check) And this, the motivation. INT. KEVIN'S CAR (DOWNTOWN L.A.) - DAY Kevin drives Ron. KEVIN Twenty-two million people watch 'Unsolved Mysteries.' That's one in every 11.8. In a crowd of, say 45, on average four will have seen my picture on the show. Now we find out if I was right and two weeks was enough. (looks at a stressed Ron) Relax. Look, I've got my running shoes on. EXT. STREET CORNER (BUSINESS DISTRICT) - DAY Kevin stands on a busy street corner. Forty people eat lunch on the steps of a building. Others pass by. Kevin nudges Ron, who resists. KEVIN Come on, don't be a pussy. A reluctant Ron walks a few feet away. He hesitates. Kevin glares at him. Ron digs deep for the courage, then points at Kevin and yells: RON Look! There he is! Don't you see? There he is! It's him! Many people stop and look. They move on. Look!

But they got shit to do.

RON (CONT'D) It's Kevin Poulsen!!

A TOURIST walks up to Kevin. TOURIST Are you famous? KEVIN I've been on TV. TOURIST Can I get your autograph? The Tourist hands him a pad. Ron walks over as Kevin finishes signing: "Kevin Poulsen - Never Surrender!" The happy Tourist walks off.

55.

KEVIN You see? Joe Public has a lot of information competing for his very limited attention span. RON You're something else. exactly, I don't know.

What

KEVIN Hold that thought because I picked this particular corner for a reason. Kevin points. Ron looks up at a huge billboard announcing "THE RICK DEES KIIS-FM PORSCHE GIVE AWAY." KEVIN (CONT'D) Now what does that billboard mean to Joe Public? Like every other ad, billboard or commercial it's just another small theft of a part of us. Our money, our time, our dreams. But these petty larcenies add up, until one morning we wake to find our souls are gone, stolen from us piece by piece until we've become nothing but consumers, living, breathing and dreaming our entire lives for the generation of corporate profits. They made money off me with 'Unsolved Mysteries.' Yeah.

RON Okay. So?

KEVIN So, for you that ad has another meaning. Two years you've been looking over your shoulder, afraid of the shadows cast by the guardians of the system. (points to bank guard, traffic cop) That ad is a challenge to unshackle yourself and reclaim your soul. Not just for you, but in the name of every man and woman out here who ever wished they could take back control of their own lives. We have the ability to do that. It's not just our right, it's our responsibility. Ron stares at the picture of the Porsche. RON You are so full of shit. (as Kevin says nothing) ... But it might be fun.

56.

KEVIN There is that. INT. SMALL OFFICE BUILDING - DAY A REAL ESTATE BROKER lets Kevin and Ron in. Kevin looks out the grimy window at the KIIS-FM building. KEVIN It's perfect. BROKER (examining Kevin's card) You're an investment analyst, Mr... Vonner? KEVIN It's mostly phone work. I'm going to need to put in several lines. The Broker nods.

Kevin sidles up to Ron at the window.

KEVIN (CONT'D) We reroute their phone numbers here... ANGLE The CAMERA SLOWLY ROTATES and now there's a table with phones. We've TIME CUT. Kevin's explanation continues. KEVIN (O.S.) We assign them new numbers, known only to us, and then forward our phones to them. Every time one of our phones rings once, we know a call has gone through... As he says this, a PHONE RINGS ONCE, then stops. The CAMERA CONTINUES to reveal that the room is now filled with wires, two computers, a sound system, and a poster: "PAC BELL. A NEW BEGINNING." RICK DEES (V.O.) (on radio) Heeey, it's another KISS-FM Thursday morning! Five days into our $100,000 Porsche giveaway! Six a.m. to six p.m., if you hear the magic trio, Janet Jackson's 'Escapade,' the B-52's 'Love Shack,' and Prince's 'Kiss,' in that order -- grab that phone and be caller 44 to win a brand new candy-red Porsche 944 S2 Cabriolet!

57.

KEVIN (O.S.) When the song sequence plays, we just count the rings, and pick our moment. Kevin and Ron sit by the phone bank, with coffee, exhausted. They've been at it for days. Stacked pizza boxes in the corner. Unfinished board games set out. Piles of magazines and newspapers. MARIAH CAREY'S "Emotion" KICKS IN and we digital clock, which reads 6:02 a.m. It hear three seconds of the same TOP FORTY OVER as the shadows change and the clock "EMOTION" is PLAYING AGAIN.

PAN TO the speeds up. We SONGS OVER AND arrives at 4:35.

RON is building a chain of paper clips dangling off a ceiling light. Kevin is building a domino chair throughout the room. "ESCAPADE" STARTS to PLAY. Ron sits up straight. Kevin jumps up, knocking over the dominoes to get into his seat. The dominoes tear across the room, making nearly impossible Rube Goldberg connections. "Escapade" gives way to "U CAN'T TOUCH THIS." Kevin and Ron slump. INT. ISG OPERATIONS ROOM Vonner signs off on the paperwork as the ISG MISFITS oversee the installation of computer equipment. UGLY (MISFIT) In two hours we'll be the first people to be able to exert our will on any C.O., computer or phone in the California network. Awesome.

SORCERER (MISFIT) We're phone gods.

VONNER Let me bring you Adonises back down to earth. Everything you do, every keystroke you hit, every word you speak in this room, will be recorded. Now get to work. INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Crystal and a tired Kevin lay in bed by candlelight, sharing a joint. CRYSTAL Do you think if Beethoven were born today he'd be in a band?

58.

KEVIN I think... I think... What was the question? CRYSTAL Tough day at the office, dear? KEVIN All day long sitting around waiting for the phone to ring... Do you like me? CRYSTAL I like your hair. KEVIN Why do you like me? CRYSTAL Are you serious? KEVIN Sometimes I think we hardly know each other. CRYSTAL You mean like, where we were when Lennon was shot, if we like spicy food, what's our biggest regret from the summer we were sixteen? I know you. Yeah?

KEVIN Like what?

CRYSTAL You're not an asshole like most people. KEVIN I'm my own kind of asshole. CRYSTAL Right. And you're smarter than the average white male. You care about people. And me. You do have a tendency to disappear, act weird and lie about it. She looks to him to gauge his reaction. He doesn't react. She lets it go. She moves closer and kisses him. They start to make love. INT. COMMAND CENTER - EARLY MORNING Morning. Kevin walks in with two coffees. Ron is asleep in a chair. "LOVE SHACK" is PLAYING. Kevin shoots a paper clip with a rubber band. It hits Ron's back.

59.

RON Ow! You bastard!... oh. I dozed. KEVIN 'Escapade' just ended. Shack's' playing.

I guess

'Love

RON Uh huh. They usually do a teaser around noon. My bladder's coming alive with Pepsi. Hurry up.

KEVIN

RON They won't do it on Sunday. They'll drag it on to Monday morning drive time. I was dreaming about Mariah Carey. That she was inside my head eating my brain. We hear him PEEING in the bathroom. Kevin lays back down. PRINCE'S "Kiss" COMES ON. Kevin jumps up. KEVIN This is it! It's Kiss! PHONES START RINGING. One! Two. Come on!

KEVIN (CONT'D) Three. Four.

Five!

RON I can't stop. The RINGS are COMING VERY FAST; Kevin keeps count. KEVIN Twenty-five-twenty-six. Let's go! Twenty-eight! Just pee on yourself! Thirty! Ron zips up. They run to phone console and yell out the number of each call coming in. As Kevin yells "thirtysix" he dials 73# on one phone, canceling call forwarding and the line's connection to the radio station. They call out the next four numbers as they cut off the lines. Then Kevin speed-dials one-handed like the expert he is. KISS EMPLOYEE #1 (V.O.) (over phone) Sorry, forty-two! Ron is dialing.

It's picked up -- as Kevin dials again.

KISS EMPLOYEE #2 (V.O.) You're forty-three!

60.

CLICK.

Kevin's line is picked up.

A moment of silence.

KEVIN What number am I? Kevin and Ron hear Kevin over the radio, RICK DEES (V.O.) (over phone) Take a guess. KEVIN I don't believe it. won?!

I won?

I

Kevin squeals. INT./EXT. PORSCHE - DAY VA-ROOOOM! Kevin and Ron tear along in their Porsche, Ron driving. He HITS the GAS and they zoom past cars. RICK DEES (V.O.) (over radio) I want to send out another congratulations to our big winner, Ron Rules. I wish you could have seen his happy face as he rode out of here. In fact, he was so happy, we all decided to make someone else just as happy. That's right! We're giving away another Porsche! So listen in, six to six, right here... Ron and Kevin look at each other and smile. EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS - DAY Early morning. No traffic. Two speeding Porsches ENTER FRAME. Ron drives one. Kevin the other. The VIOLENT FEMMES' "American music" fills the SOUNDTRACK. Tops down, feeling the power, they blow through the streets. They pass a cop car. Lights and SIRENS GO ON, but as they disappear ahead of him, the cop just gives up. INT. ISG OPERATIONS ROOM - DAY Vonner tries to understand as the excited Misfits explain rapid-fire with scribbled drawings and phone records. MISFIT #1 He'd never use the same pay phone twice after calling his parents -SORCERER Kevin is careful, very careful. And that's what we rely on --

61.

UGLY If he has other calls to make he'll use other phones. Nearby. SUBNORMAL Every time he calls home we pull records from pay phones in a oneblock radius. Run them through a program to cross check all calls within a five-minute window. UGLY Numbers that repeat day to day could be Kevin. Calling a friend, a girlfriend -VONNER And what does all this get me? UGLY Not much really. Except...

SORCERER

SubNormal hands Vonner a piece of paper. VONNER What's this? SUBNORMAL A phone number. Ron Austin's phone number. Vonner smiles.

The Misfits are proud.

INT. JABBER JAW - NIGHT Crystal is on stage, singing right to Kevin, who's in the audience with Ron. The music is loud, fierce. CRYSTAL 'Hey, asshole, what's wrong with you? Won't talk to me, give me my due. Hey, asshole, where you going with that diode in your hand? He's a technophile, a computer geek, He leaves me alone, but he leaves me weak...' Kevin is uncomfortable, but he gives her the thumbs-up. INT. RAINBOW BAR & GRILL - LATE NIGHT Justin is at the bar drinking with TWO BABES.

62.

JUSTIN Right now I've got a system set up to turn on about a hundred escort services' dead phones and send them to this guy I got working for me. I'm the biggest pimp in L.A. I mean, I don't get my hands dirty. I just direct the traffic. Oh, there's one of my boys now. Party's over, ladies, duty calls. Kevin comes up.

Justin kisses each one good-bye.

MARCIE Will I see you again? JUSTIN I wouldn't deny you my most excellent visage. BABE #2 Catch you later, pimp daddy. She giggles.

Kevin and Justin walk away.

KEVIN Were you telling them about...? JUSTIN Of course not. No. I said it was me. But just enough to titillate. KEVIN Well stop it. I'm the one with my ass on the line. JUSTIN If you'd let me in on it, I'd get all the pussy you're passing up and I wouldn't have to talk it up. It's your own fault. INT./EXT. '70S EL DORADO CONVERTIBLE - NIGHT Justin drives. Kevin enjoys the wind in his face. The dusty old book he was reading in the motel lies on the back seat open to a picture of the 1960s S.A.S. Machine. KEVIN (V.O.) I was on a quest, hunting for a ghost, but so far I had found no trace. A central office rises before them in the moonlit night. INT. SHERMAN OAKS C.O. HALLWAY - NIGHT They look around, peering into rooms, checking computers. They hear GRUNTING down the hall. Kevin starts to move away. Justin stops -- and follows it. Kevin whispers.

63.

KEVIN What're you doing?... Justin!... Justin! He follows Justin to where the GRUNTING is LOUDER. A door is ajar. Justin looks in, then falls back trying to hold in his laughter. He pushes Kevin to look. Inside, a guard with porno mags moans as he plays with himself under the desk. Justin lets Kevin pull him away. JUSTIN Remind me not to touch any doorknobs. HALLWAY Kevin, alone, looks around.

He opens a rusty metal door.

INT. DUSTY OLD ROOM Kevin takes a quick look, starts out, then takes another look: A weathered console sits in a corner. It's S.A.S. KEVIN (V.O.) There it sat, passed by, used up. A relic. S.A.S. -- Subtest assignment System. For Pac Bell it was just old line testing technology, a system someone sitting in a C.O. could use to drop in on your line to see why it was dead without bugging a lineman. Kevin it on, the amber monitor reflecting in his eyes. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) But for me, it was, much, much more. If I used it to its unintended full potential, it would become that mythical device the legendary phone freak Captain Crunch had dreamed of. He pulls out a tape recorder with a mic wire ending in alligator clips. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) A machine that could commandeer any phone network, data or voice. That could tap anyone's phone, and be absolutely untraceable. Kevin connects the clips to data lines at the back of the console. He types commands. NOISES. Screens flash by. All being recorded. "Connected Remote" appears on the S.A.S. screen. Kevin is entranced.

64.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) It was the Holy Grail of hacking and I had it in my hands. Kevin hears Justin coming. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) But in the wrong hands... Kevin quickly pockets the tape recorder, taking the recorded SAS codes and turns off the console -- as Justin walks in carrying a computer. JUSTIN How much do you think I could get for this? KEVIN About one to five. You're here to learn, remember, not steal stuff. JUSTIN You can't eat knowledge. KEVIN Come on, put it back. JUSTIN I am so sick of your 'this is ethical but that isn't' weirdo bullshit. It's okay to rig radio contests and pimp, but not this? Give me a handout that explains it all so I can keep track, will you? INT. CENTRAL OFFICE HALLWAY - NIGHT As they tiptoe to the exit, they hear more GRUNTING. Justin suddenly calls out: Oh baby! love me!

JUSTIN Oh baby!

I love me!

I

There's a CRASH down the hall. Kevin and Justin take off running and hit the exit, Kevin having to hold the door. KEVIN What the hell is wrong with you?! EXT. CENTRAL OFFICE - NIGHT They run down the street and jump in the car and take off as the guard runs out after them, pulling up his pants. INT. KEVIN AND RON'S COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT Ron watches over Kevin's shoulder as Kevin's computer dials into S.A.S.

65.

Kevin's tape recorder is connected to phone line at the back of the computer. We hear the tones he recorded at the C.O. INT. SHERMAN OAKS CENTRAL OFFICE - S.A.S. ROOM - NIGHT "CONNECTED REMOTE" appears on the S.A.S. console. INT. COMMAND CENTER "CONNECTED REMOTE" is mirrored on Kevin's screen. KEVIN (V.O.) S.A.S. was more than just a listening device. With it you had access to every phone line and computer of every institution, government agency and bank. You had their unencrypted transactions and their passwords. You had the information you needed to steal billions. In?

KEVIN (CONT'D) Or out?

Ron stares at it, enthralled.

It's just too tempting.

INT. COMMAND CENTER - NIGHT Kevin and Ron are drinking one Coke after another, like in the old days. DMV'S computer screen is on Kevin's computer. It's Ron's driving record. KEVIN You swear you'll never speed again? I promise.

RON

KEVIN That's good enough for me. (erases Ron's one point) Want a chauffeur's license? never know.

You

RON No, I'm okay, but thanks. KEVIN (exits DMV system) Okay. I know. Let's move the COMSAT satellite five degrees. That'll get the boys at Palomar hopping. (off Ron's look) I'm kidding. I'm kidding. There is one thing I want to do, though.

66.

Kevin types.

Ron watches.

He laughs.

Kevin laughs.

INT. VONNER'S HOUSE - NIGHT Vonner is dialing, but a voice comes over the line. RECORDED PAC BELL VOICE (V.O.) To make a call, please deposit ten cents for the first three minutes. What the fuck? He clicks the hang-up button. operator gets on.

An

OPERATOR (V.O.) (over phone) Sir, to use the pay phone you need to deposit a coin. VONNER This isn't a pay phone. my house.

This is

OPERATOR (laughs derisively) Okaaay... then try looking under the couch pillows. I always find change there. EXT. ROXY PARKING LOT - NIGHT A MAN buys pills from MARCIE (one of the women Justin bragged to about the pimping). Then flashes a badge. MAN Bad news, Marcie. arrest.

You're under

MARCIE Sheldon, you're a cop? I thought we were friends. Fuck. Don't do this. What if I knew something? SHELDON THE COP (MAN) What kind of something? It's wild. for you.

MARCIE Could be a good bust

INT/EXT. FBI CAR - NIGHT Four FBI agents in the car, following Ron, who's walking on the street. They watch as he enters his building. FBI AGENT DRIVER (into radio) Suspect has entered his residence. So far there's no sign--

67.

INT. RON'S LOBBY - SIMULTANEOUS FBI AGENT (V.O.) (over scanner) -- of Poulsen. Kevin is here. him.

He grabs Ron, scaring the shit out of

RON Jesus Christ! Kevin shushes him and points to the scanner. MITCHELL (V.O.) (over scanner) Okay, John, stick with him. EXT. ALLEY BEHIND RON'S BUILDING - NIGHT Hyper-nervous, Ron peeks down the alley at the FBI. RON Maybe it's just routine. You know, following up on known acquaintances. KEVIN 'Fraid not. I did some poking around with S.A.S. Pac Bell's got some kind of centralized control now at their headquarters and somebody's running cross-checkanalyses of pay phone records. Pay phones that I've used. RON Jesus Christ! How the hell do they know how to do something like that?! KEVIN Or who do they have working for them who knows how? RON Aren't you supposed to tell me to calm down? Isn't this where you say relax, there's no need to overreact? KEVIN Calm down. Relax. There's no reason to overreact. But he's not very convincing.

68.

INT. GRAND JURY PROCEEDINGS - DAY MOS as we GLIDE THROUGH the grand jury room. The PROSECUTOR walks tall in his gray suit as he makes a point. The grand jurors take notes. We GLIDE PAST the 1960s Pac Bell phone console Kevin took from the parking lot garbage. The CAMERA SETTLES ON the witness: VONNER This is a military communications system. It is used to monitor telephone calls and data transmissions both within and between U.S. military installations. We SWEEP BACK AROUND the room PAST the jurors, shaking their heads in shock, the Prosecutor strutting, Mitchell, at the Prosecutor's table nodding, then AROUND to SETTLE ON a new witness, a U.S. ARMY MAJOR in uniform with medals who hands the Prosecutor back a document. MAJOR That is a classified MASNET profile with tasking orders for the targeting of U.S. nuclear weapons. PROSECUTOR These are Russian targets, Major Lockleider? MAJOR I'm afraid I'm not allowed to say, sir. PROSECUTOR Major, are you aware that Mr. Poulsen was in possession of the Soviet consulate's unlisted phone number...? The grand jurors look alarmed -INT. APARTMENT BUILDING Kevin and Ron walk a dirty, graffiti-scarred hallway to a door marked: "ELECTRICAL CLOSET." Kevin picks the lock. INT. APARTMENT If this apartment has ever been cleaned, it was in another life. CYCLOPS types at a feverish pace. Pale, unwashed, he doesn't hear Ron's KNOCK. Then he sees Ron's reflection in his screen. CYCLOPS Jesus Christ! Ron! heart attack! (MORE)

Give me a

69.

CYCLOPS (CONT'D) (as Kevin walks in) Oh! Great! Kevin Poulsen. This is what I really need. Why don't you put a sign on my head, 'accessory after the fact'? Cyclops goes to the door and looks into the hallway. KEVIN We weren't followed. Cyclops doesn't look too sure. Then he sits at his computer and stares at the screens floating by. RON Cyclops, this place is rank. Ron goes to open the shades and the window. CYCLOPS Don't do that, man. The sun causes serious glare on my monitor -Ron opens the shade and window. It's night outside. Cyclops is confused a beat, then goes back to the computer, mesmerized. Kevin pulls Cyclops's chair back and sits in front of the computer. What? want?

CYCLOPS (CONT'D) What? What the fuck do you

KEVIN Somebody is trying very hard to track me down. CYCLOPS Well there's a big fucking surprise. They're trying hard to find a fugitive hacker who used to work for the defense department. Cyclops tries to peek around Kevin.

Kevin shifts.

KEVIN S.R.I. Not defense. The thing is I'm not talking Pac Bell or F.B.I. They got somebody. Cyclops, look at me. (off Cyclops's look) Are you working for them? CYCLOPS I-I-I can't believe you even said that. A: I would never work for them. B: I got important stuff of my own I'm working on. He points to the screen, flashing pages of numbers.

70.

KEVIN Do you know who's working for them?

No.

CYCLOPS (looks down)

He's obviously lying. Kevin reaches down into the guts of Cyclops's computer, which is jury-rigged, its insides sprawled onto the floor. He disconnects the hard drive. Cyclops almost goes into shock. KEVIN What's this? Wow, a 40 meg hard drive. That's a lot of bytes. CYCLOPS C'mon, man. Put it down. (as Kevin tosses it to Ron) Hey! C'mon. Give it to me. (as Ron holds it out the window) Ron! Kevin, make him stop! Jesus! Okay, okay. They hired some guys. Seven, maybe more. They got Ugly. Sorcerer. SubNormal -SubNormal?

RON Out of M.I.T.? Christ.

Kevin can't believe it either.

This is bad news.

CYCLOPS He dropped out of M.I.T. Works for some idiot named Gates who left Harvard to start some operating system company. They give him a bunch of options and shit wages so I guess he's moonlighting looking for you. Ron gives back the hard drive. head out.

A troubled Ron and Kevin

KEVIN We're going to have to be very careful getting together now. RON What the hell was I thinking letting you talk me back into doing this stuff? KEVIN Well, it's not like you had any interesting internships knocking on your door.

71.

RON That's funny.

Very funny.

INT./EXT. KEVIN'S VAN - MOVING - DAY A contemplative Kevin drives. He approaches his P.O. box center. He turns up his scanner. Nada. He parks. INT. BRONCO - DAY Across the street from the P.O. center a guy in a Bronco puts down a sandwich and raises a pair of binoculars, watching Kevin enter. INT. P.O. BOX CENTER - DAY As Kevin puts his key in his P.O. box, he glances cautiously out the window and spots the driver, who quickly lowers the binoculars. Kevin hesitates. He takes the key out, leaving his box locked, and exits. EXT. P.O. BOX CENTER - DAY Kevin goes to his van. He pulls out. Shit. The Bronco is following! Adrenaline pumping, Kevin hits the gas, taking a series of alley and street moves that could only have been pre-planned. He looks back. No Bronco. He flicks his RADIO back ON. Still nothing. Passing a garbage truck, he tosses the key in with a hook shot. Kevin relaxes and goes back to main streets, but he notices a Camaro crossing a street behind him that suddenly hits the gas and turns toward him across traffic! Kevin FLOORS IT, takes a turn. He switches his scanner to another channel. LAPD RADIO (V.O.) Suspect spotted heading north on Second... Oh shit.

KEVIN

Kevin turns again and passes the Bronco, going the other way! It swings around. On another turn, Kevin's TIRE HITS a CURB and BLOWS. Damn! He jumps out, looking for an escape route -- but the Camaro pulls up in front of him. Nowhere to run, he takes a breath and walks right up to the Camaro, to the surprise of its two passengers. EXT. CAMARO - DAY KEVIN Excuse me, can you help me with my flat?

72.

Sheldon -- the vice cop who arrested Marcie earlier -jumps out of the Camaro, slams Kevin against the car, and puts a gun to Kevin's head. SHELDON Who the fuck do you think you're bullshitting? We're cops. What's your name? Kevin looks momentarily relieved he doesn't know his name. Then he looks confused. What is his name? KEVIN What is this about? do?

What did I

Sheldon pulls Kevin's wallet out and reads the license. Kevin tries to get a glimpse of it. SHELDON Mr. Archie Holdengraber... Any bets on what his real name is? Detective 1 shows Sheldon Kevin's bag from his van. The scanner. Lock pick. Lineman's phone. $800 in twenties. SHELDON (CONT'D) Pimping brings in some good dough, huh, Archie? Now Kevin gets it. Sheldon cuffs him and shoves him in the car. He sits there, helpless and nervous. What now? INT. RAMPARTS POLICE STATION - DAY A SERGEANT takes Kevin's fingerprints. Kevin watches him put the card in a fax machine and signal Sheldon. Sheldon nods and dials his SPEAKERPHONE. Kevin hears the TONES amid the ambient noise. A COP pulls him across the room. As it RINGS, Sheldon picks up. SHELDON This is detective Sheldon at Ramparts L.A. I just faxed a set. I need you to run those before I leave at five... Great. As Kevin is hauled out, he sees a clock.

It's 2:17.

KEVIN I'd like to make my call now. INT. HALLWAY TELEPHONE ALCOVE Dialing, Kevin looks at the Cop, who's standing close. KEVIN Do you mind?

73.

COP Two minutes. The cop moves out of earshot, but watches him. RINGS. Ron's MACHINE picks up, then BEEPS.

The PHONE

KEVIN Ron, pick up... Ron... Listen. When you get in, wait for my call. It's important. INT. HALLWAY TELEPHONE ALCOME - LATER (4:15) Kevin trying again.

Ron picks up.

RON (V.O.) (over phone) Let me guess: Kevin Poulsen. You're probably not going to let me finish my sandwich -KEVIN Don't talk, don't think, just do what I say, I'm out of time. Turn on S.A.S. INTERCUT WITH: INT. RON'S HOUSE Ron, concerned, sits at his computer and turns it on. KEVIN And call this number and tell me who answers: 916 435-9878. Ron pushes "HOLD" on his four-line phone, then "LINE 3." He dials. VOICE (V.O.) (over second phone) Sacramento. Hefflin. Ron hits the button for Kevin, cutting off Hefflin. RON Hefflin, Mister or possibly a bull dyke... S.A.S. is up. KEVIN Access COSMOS. Reroute this call to L.A.'s Ramparts police station, general number -- as fast as you can. Kevin looks at the Cop, who watches from down the hall.

74.

INT. RAMPARTS STATION A RECEPTIONIST answers the call. Ramparts.

RECEPTIONIST

KEVIN (V.O.) (over phone) Detective Larson. INT. RAMPARTS STATION - DETECTIVES' AREA Sheldon's partner answers the RINGING PHONE. Sheldon is sitting right across from him, doing paperwork. Larson.

DETECTIVE LARSON

INTERCUT WITH: INT. HOLDING CELL HALLWAY - PAY PHONE - KEVIN KEVIN This is Hefflin in Sacramento. I've got the results of that print run -DETECTIVE LARSON Hold on, here's detective Sheldon. He's already handing the phone to Sheldon -KEVIN No, just take a message! The Cop down the hall glances up at Kevin. SHELDON Sheldon here. KEVIN (beat, low voice, drawl) Detective Sheldon, this is Sergeant Kelbow calling for Hefflin with those print results. The Cop down the hall checks his watch, frowns, gets up. Right.

SHELDON What've we got?

KEVIN Name's Holdengraber. Archie. Arrested once for shoplifting at age seventeen.

75.

COP (standing next to him) Time's up. That's it?

SHELDON No outstandings?

KEVIN Nope. He's cleaner than the 'Patty Duke Show.' Gotta go now. Y'all take care. The drawl makes the Cop look at Kevin strangely. just smiles at him and hangs up.

Kevin

INT. POLICE STATION - DAY Kevin hurries out. The wall clock says 4:34. Sheldon watches Kevin walk out, then picks up his RINGING PHONE. SHELDON Detective Sheldon... Yeah, Hefflin, what's up? EXT. POLICE STATION - DAY Sheldon and a dozen cops run outside, looking for Kevin. INT. BUS (IN FRONT OF STATION) - MOVING Kevin, seeing the cops, slinks down as the bus pulls out. INT. VONNER'S OFFICE - DAY Vonner is on the phone to the LA cops. VONNER He's a federal fugitive and you just let him walk! He was an 'Unsolved Mysteries' for Christ's sake! ... You got a call? You got a call. Of course you got a fucking call! He slams down the receiver. EXT. SUNSET BOULEVARD - TWILIGHT Kevin gets off a bus and walks the Sunset Strip, shaken. INT. BEN FRANK'S - DAY An upset Ron enters. He spots Kevin with Crystal in a booth sharing a chili cheese fries. He makes a beeline. Kevin.

RON I've got to talk to you.

76.

CRYSTAL Uh, hi, Ron. RON Hi, Crystal. Like right now, Kevin. Ron walks off. Kevin shrugs to Crystal and follows. They slide into a booth. Crystal watches them, too far away to hear. Ron tosses Kevin stained, crumpled papers, and some computer disks. RON (CONT'D) I pulled these out of Justin's garbage. He's using what you taught him about hacking to sell information to private investigators. He matches names to phone numbers and addresses. Hacks T.R.W. for credit reports. Sells bank statements, medical histories -(grabs back a paper) Here's the price list. Credit reports, $50. Change a credit report, $1,000. Phone records, $350 -Oh my God.

KEVIN

RON He's been tapping my fucking phone, Kevin. (shows wires to him) My guess is he knows about S.A.S. KEVIN (that sinks in) We have to find out. We have to know if he's got S.A.S -RON We don't have to do anything. We is no longer an operative concept. I'm done. I'm done helping you tie a noose around your neck. I'm done letting myself be dragged into your shit. You talk a lot about what you believe and what the things you do mean. (throws tap wires at Kevin) This. This is what you've done. You've created a monster. (as Kevin is stunned) Don't be surprised. Neither of us should be surprised. I mean, what the fuck did you think was going to happen?! Listen. (MORE)

77.

RON (CONT'D) Pretend I'm pulling a Kevin and I didn't tell you where I live, I didn't give you my phone number and I'll call you if I need you. Ron gets up and leaves. goes to Kevin.

Crystal watches him go, then

CRYSTAL What was that about? What could you possibly have done to make him mad like that? KEVIN Nothing. It's fine. He was...

He just...

He can't think of a good story and stops. His heart's not in it. She just looks at him, shaking her head. INT. JUSTIN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT With Kevin dogging him, Justin preps for a night out, enjoying his reflection in a mirror as he tries on garments, applies eyeliner and generally primps himself. JUSTIN Why would I deny it? You're not my mother. You don't tell me what to do. KEVIN You learned all this from me. JUSTIN Okay, so... thanks. KEVIN There's a responsibility that comes with having this kind of access. A restraint you have to exercise. You're like... Kane in 'Kung Fu.' You have the power to kick anybody's ass any time, but do you do it? No. Only when there's no other way, and only when good is advanced and evil defeated. JUSTIN He kicked ass in every episode and it was always the best part. KEVIN That's not the point. JUSTIN No, that's not your point. Kevin follows Justin out into:

78.

INT. STAIRWELL - JUSTIN AND KEVIN descending. JUSTIN My point is you want to know everything and do everything, but you don't want me to. You and Ron have some kind of new tapping device, but were you going to tell me about it? No. Why? Because you're selfish. Well sooner or later I'll find out all about it. This is Kevin's worst nightmare. KEVIN Justin, listen to me, you can't use S.A.S. -Justin pulls a gun. it at him.

Kevin reacts, but Justin doesn't aim

JUSTIN You see it and your brain just screams out one simple, clear idea. Power. That's what it's all about, Kevin. Mine, yours, the government's. If you have it, you better use it, because in life it's either fuck or get fucked. But right now it's Friday night. (puts arm around Kevin's shoulder) Time to put away the petty shit, hit the clubs, find the girls -and party! Kevin pulls away, stepping back up a couple steps. Justin shakes his head, then laughs. He hits the exit alone, SHOOTING his GUN into the air -- BAM -- BAM -- and letting out a whoop. OFF Kevin's apprehension -INT. KEVIN'S BEDROOM - DAY Kevin is listening to his voicemail, jotting down a number. He hangs up. In the b.g. Crystal cooks in the kitchen. Kevin closes the door. INT. WASHINGTON FBI OFFICE - DAY A view of the capital. An officious FBI AGENT DORCHEN, surrounded by piles of work, answers the RINGING PHONE. AGENT DORCHEN Hello...? Mr. Poulsen, thanks for getting back to me so fast. I love that message, by the way. I'm a huge Kubrick fan.

79.

INTERCUT WITH: INT. KEVIN'S BEDROOM Kevin is using SAS to make this call. KEVIN What's this about Agent Dorchen? AGENT DORCHEN It's about resolving your situation. Your file's come under review at Justice, and it's been determined that the charges filed are not in accordance with the evidence. KEVIN Are you serious? mean?

What does that

AGENT DORCHEN It means we're dropping most of them. KEVIN When you say 'most,' what are we talking? AGENT DORCHEN (looking at file) Well, there's still the State B and E. And one, maybe two, computer fraud charges on the federal side. If you're willing to deal, I think we can meet halfway. KEVIN What do Mitchell and Vonner think about this? AGENT DORCHEN I suspect I'm making this call because Agent Mitchell wasn't too happy about it. As for Mr. Vonner, I wouldn't know. I work for Justice. Not Pac Bell. I'm flying out there the day after tomorrow and I'd like to resolve this. Why don't you come down to the Federal Building on Wednesday, say nine, bring a lawyer if you want, and we'll close the deal. KEVIN I'll be there. They hang up. Kevin does a jig! He is totally psyched! Then he thinks. And thinks some more.

80.

His smile fades to uncertainty. He goes to the SAS computer and types a command. We hear Dorchen's PHONE line. It's RINGING. INT. MITCHELL'S EXPANDED OFFICES - DAY A great hustle and bustle as two dozen new agents take over the area outside Mitchell's office. There's a blackboard labeled "POULSEN POINT TEAMS" on the top. Communications, Counter-Intelligence, etc. Two agents play darts with Kevin's face as the target. Inside Mitchell's office, AGENT #1 answers a phone as Vonner, at the door, shakes hands with one of three MEN waiting to introduce themselves. NSA LIAISON Ned Hartman. N.S.A liaison -AGENT #1 Sirs, it's Agent Dorchen. Vonner and Mitchell both grab extensions. THREE-WAY SPLIT SCREEN - DORCHEN/KEVIN/MITCHELL'S OFFICE AGENT DORCHEN It was so easy, I almost felt sorry for him. VONNER Dorch, you've never felt sorry for anybody. (to Mitchell) He took his kids to Bambi and when the mother died all he could think was mmmm, venison. Mitchell laughs. Fuck you.

AGENT DORCHEN

MITCHELL I just wish you could be here to see the expression on Poulsen's face when we tell him he's going down for espionage. They can barely contain their glee.

Kevin is in shock.

KEVIN Espionage?! They can't hear him. VONNER We'll take pictures for you, Dorch -Kevin flips a switch.

His mic is live.

81.

KEVIN Espionage?! Where the fuck do you guys get espionage? What? Mitchell?

MITCHELL AGENT DORCHEN

KEVIN That's like, forty to life, you crazy Nazi motherfuckers. I am not going to bend over and take this. Poulsen?!

VONNER

KEVIN Vonner, you fat fuck, this is a free country, despite your efforts! AGENT DORCHEN What the hell's going on? KEVIN Smile, Dorch, you're on 'Candid Camera.' A confused Agent Dorchen looks around. VONNER Get off the phone. Vonner and Mitchell hang up. Holy shit.

Hang up. STAY WITH them.

VONNER (CONT'D)

MITCHELL I'm calling the Attorney General -He reaches for the phone, then pulls back as if stung. They look at each other. Mitchell turns to an underling. MITCHELL (CONT'D) Get that N.S.A. guy in here. I want every agent supplied with an encrypted cell phone. No one uses a land line. VONNER That goddamn son of a bitch. the hell did he do that?

How

82.

INT. KEVIN'S ROOM Kevin has his head in his hands. Could things possibly get worse? He tries to shake it off but can't. He gets up and marches into the: LIVING ROOM Crystal watches Kevin grab his jacket. KEVIN I've got to go. CRYSTAL But I made dinner. She shows him the pan.

It's macaroni and cheese.

CRYSTAL (CONT'D) It's real cheese. KEVIN I forgot I, I told Mr. Kurzweil I'd finish the synthetic Didjeridoo sounds -CRYSTAL Whatever it is, it can wait. KEVIN I gave him my word. CRYSTAL No. Stop right there. I want to know what's really going on. Tell me. The truth. Kevin thinks about it.

But he just can't do it.

KEVIN It's just work. CRYSTAL You know what? Fuck you. KEVIN You're right. You're absolutely right. Fuck me. I feel terrible. I'll make it up to you. He puts his jacket on as he talks. She slams down the pan. They both head for the door at the same time. CRYSTAL The least you can do is wait for me to leave first! He does.

83.

EXT. ANOTHER CITY STREET - NIGHT Kevin is walking. KEVIN (V.O.) I had believed it would somehow work out. That authority would be exercised with some measure of justice and fairness. That somebody somewhere would realize the punishment should fit the crime. He stops by a wall.

And vomits.

EXT. PAY PHONE - NIGHT Kevin is talking on a Pac Bell pay phone. KEVIN Ron, it's important. talk. Ron.

I need to

INT. RON'S APARTMENT - SAME TIME Ron is sitting by the machine.

He turns the volume off.

INT. VONNER'S HOME - NIGHT Vonner, in pajamas, gets into bed and pulls up the covers. He turns and stares at his phone. He reaches over -- and unplugs it. EXT. PAY PHONE OUTSIDE BEN FRANK'S - DAY Beautiful women are at a table in the b.g., laughing and having a good time as Kevin listens to his messages. MRS. POULSEN (V.O.) (on voice mail) Hello, Kevin. Nani... Nani isn't, uh... Nani had a stroke, Kevin -- a series of little strokes. She's under observation. I know you can't visit, but it would mean so much to her if you could call. Her number is 213 38 Kevin hits a button and whips out a pen to write with. MRS. POULSEN (CONT'D) (on voice mail) ... could call. Her number is 213 387-8649. (BEEP) Hello, Kevin. I'm so sorry. Nani passed away this evening... (MORE)

84.

MRS. POULSEN (CONT'D) I know she knew you were thinking about her. I love you. MR. POULSEN (V.O.) (on voice mail) It's Dad, Kevin. I love you, too. MECHANICAL VOICE MAIL VOICE (V.O.) No more messages. Thank you for using Pac Bell. INT./EXT. KEVIN'S PORSCHE - DAY Kevin sits in the Porsche, windows tinted, two blocks up from the church his parents were married in. People are entering. Kevin spies: Feds on the sidewalk; Vonner, sitting in a car; Feds on the church steps. He watches his father, taking note of them. SLOW PUSH IN ON Kevin. KEVIN (V.O. There's no justice but the justice you make for yourself. If I wanted to stay free then I had no choice. My back was against the wall. Kevin watches as Ron arrives. His mom starts crying when she sees him. Ron hugs her, comforting her. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) It was time to take extreme measures. INT. GUN SHOP - DAY Racks of rifles, shotguns, pistols. The guy behind the counter looks at us and reaches under the counter. KEVIN (V.O.) Henry Spiegel knew a guy who could get me a new passport. The guy slides the passport over. perfect.

Kevin opens it.

It's

KEVIN (CONT'D) I figured: Four million. Earning five percent in a bank, that would be 200 grand a year, not excessive if you consider the cost of living in the Caymans. BEGIN MONTAGE Inside Credit Suisse Bank. A well-dressed Kevin shakes hands with a banker as he's handed his new passbook. KEVIN (V.O.) The hacker code was a lofty, romantic ideal of youth. (MORE)

85.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) In the adult world, in the real world, you did what you had to. In his command center (where he and Ron won the Porsche), Kevin is at his computer screen, an unintelligible alphanumeric stream scrolling by. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Tapping the data stream was just a matter of turning on S.A.S. Plucking out bank I.D.s and Federal Reserve numbers was more difficult. But once I had them, I had all I needed. He prints out three pages densely packed with numbers. He examines them closely and highlights a nine-digit number that repeats in four spots. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) The only real problem was the big money. Where was it? Wall Street mid-day.

People and cars rushing by.

Inside Bear Stearns, screaming currency traders on phones, staring at monitors. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Currency speculation. The making of money by buying and selling money. Nothing produced, just a payoff on the spread between the cost of currencies in different spot markets. A trillion dollars traded every day. A DISEMBODIED POV FLOATS THROUGH Chase Manhattan Bank at night, PAST empty teller stations to a machine with "EFT" written on it. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Electronic Fund Transfer. The machine comes to life as, in the b.g., the huge bank vault door starts to open... KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) With S.A.S., I could intercept a transfer, and send it anywhere in the world I wanted. As far as Chase knew, I was the Bank of Boston. No witnesses. And no record of the transfer's little Swiss detour. ON Kevin's monitor is an echo of Chase Bank's EFT screen, the words "Transfer Funds?" and "$4,873,672.12" blinking. Crystal stands behind Kevin, in awe. He hits "enter." A beat and a confirmation from "CREDIT SUISSE" appears.

86.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) From Switzerland the money can be sent anywhere. Anywhere they don't extradite for financial crimes. EXT. MEXICAN BORDER POST - DAY Crystal and Kevin are among a throng of tourists waved across the border by Mexican agents with nary a glance at their passports. KEVIN (V.O.) The next contact I would have with Vonner and Mitchell was through postcards. INT. MEXICO CITY AIRPORT - NIGHT Kevin and Crystal board a plane. Cayman Islands.

Destination:

The

The plane takes off and flies into the sun. KEVIN (V.O.) I mean, come on, if you were me, what would you do? FREEZE FRAME. The plane flies backward as the FILM REVERSES THROUGH the previous sequence in three seconds, ending Kevin's fantasy at: INT. BEN FRANK'S - DAY Kevin is alone at Ben Frank's with a hot dog. He's examining those same three pages densely packed with numbers. He has number sequences circled and X-ed off, looking for the Fed Reserve numbers. KEVIN (V.O.) I was a man with a plan. But it's not working. He can't pick out the numbers. He looks up. Justin is in a booth, laughing with his rocker buddies. He glances at Kevin, looking very smug. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Unfortunately, I had a problem. EXT. CITY STREET - NIGHT Kevin watches a central office from his car across the street as Justin comes out. Kevin follows him. KEVIN (V.O.) Justin was retracing our steps to find S.A.S. There was no way I could let that happen. I created him. I had to stop him.

87.

INT. SHERMAN OAKS CENTRAL OFFICE S.A.S. ROOM - NIGHT Kevin connects a silent radio alarm transmitter to the back of the S.A.S. machine. INT. ISG OPERATIONS ROOM - NIGHT Also burning the midnight oil, Ugly checks SubNormal's progress. UGLY Has he been in any Pac Bell systems? SUBNORMAL Not since he looked up new phone tap orders at 6:44 this morning. It's like he comes in from nowhere... Does Pac Bell have some kind of remote testing system? Hm.

UGLY Worth looking into.

INT. CREDIT SUISSE BANK - CLOSE ON PASSPORT - DAY Kevin's picture and the name Buster Chesterfield. A sleep-deprived, very well-dressed Kevin sits across from a proper SWISS BANKER, who holds the passport and Kevin's paperwork. SWISS BANKER That's fine, Mr. Chesterfield. you'll just wait a few more moments, we'll be done.

If

Kevin graciously waves off the inconvenience as the Banker stands -- out of nowhere, Crystal sits down next to Kevin, her midriff showing, a tattoo peeking up on the small of her back. Kevin is surprised. KEVIN What are you doing here? CRYSTAL I've been following you. The Swiss Banker hesitates, watching them. KEVIN What -- what happened? CRYSTAL Why don't you tell me? KEVIN Is there something particular you want to ask me about?

88.

CRYSTAL Bad answer. Crystal grabs the Banker's coffee off the desk and dumps it on Kevin's head. Kevin sucks in his breath at the heat and wetness. CRYSTAL (CONT'D) That Porsche you've been driving around does not belong to Mr. Kurzweil. He did not lend it to you because you patched the hole in his Cello program. I went to the club where we met and did some asking around. When exactly were you going to tell me about the radio contests you illegally rigged to win with a bunch of rocker sluts? Everyone in the bank is staring at them now. KEVIN Can we please go somewhere and talk? CRYSTAL Too late, Kevin. Just fuck off. He goes after her, but she turns and shoves him. He goes flying across the Banker's desk. She storms out. The Banker stares at Kevin. KEVIN Kevin's just what she calls me. Kind of a nickname. The Banker just stares at Kevin. passport back.

Kevin grabs his

INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE CRYSTAL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT Kevin is outside Crystal's holding flowers, knocking. sound emerges from inside. From his tone, he's been there a while.

No

KEVIN Crystal, please open the door. Crystal. INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - LATE NIGHT Kevin is in his chair, depressed, cat on his lap. His eyes wander to pages with numbers. Like a revelation, Kevin suddenly sees it. He takes a highlighter and out of a sea of random numbers, he marks a repeating ninedigit number four times on the page. The federal ID number.

89.

He goes to his computer. On the screen is: "CHASE EFT" and "FID:" Kevin types in the number and hits enter. A pause, then the computer asks for it again. Kevin types, hits enter. "WELCOME BANK OF BOSTON" appears. Kevin can't believe it. It thinks he's the Bank of Boston! An ALARM GOES OFF. Kevin looks at it. He looks back at the screen. He wants to stay. But he knows he can't. He grabs his jacket -INT. S.A.S. ROOM - NIGHT Lights blink on the silent alarm Kevin placed. Dolly around to Justin, in awe of the S.A.S. machine. EXT. SHERMAN OAKS CO - NIGHT Kevin pulls up in his Porsche and sees Justin's parked El Dorado. He gets out and makes a call from a pay phone. KEVIN I saw a man break into the Pac Bell office at 13400 Ventura!... He's still in there. He hangs up and makes another call. INT. SHERMAN OAKS CO - JUSTIN AT S.A.S. CONSOLE - NIGHT The PHONE next to Justin RINGS. picks up.

He looks at it.

And

JUSTIN What do you want, Kevin? INTERCUT WITH: KEVIN KEVIN Pac Bell's beefed up their security, Justin. The cops are coming for you. JUSTIN Fuck you. You just don't want me to have S.A.S. Well guess what? Too late. KEVIN Better get your ass out of there. Listen. Kevin holds the PHONE up to catch the SIRENS APPROACHING. JUSTIN Nice try. This is L.A. don't you hear sirens?

When

90.

He hangs up. Kevin hangs up. He paces. The SIRENS GET LOUDER. He starts off but stops when he sees the cops turning two blocks down. He looks back and forth between the squad cars and the central office. The cops pull up. Justin, in a cowboy hat, comes running out a door and across the lot, the cops on his heels. Kevin jumps in his Porsche and speeds over to Justin who sees him and jumps in. They take off. INT./EXT. PORSCHE - NIGHT JUSTIN Took you long enough. Kevin FLOORS it.

The cops jump in their cars and pursue.

JUSTIN (CONT'D) You fucking called them didn't you? KEVIN Just to get you out of there. you'd have listened to me --

If

JUSTIN If you'd just given me S.A.S. to begin with -Shut up.

KEVIN

INT. VONNER'S HOME - NIGHT Vonner is on the phone with a police dispatcher. POLICE DISPATCHER (V.O.) (over phone) ... Officers in pursuit. Passenger is caucasian, six two, brown pony tail. Driver: Caucasian, five-eleven, slight build, platinum blond -VONNER It's him. Listen, the driver is Kevin Lee Poulsen. He's a federal fugitive, possibly dangerous -EXT. HOLLYWOOD HILLS Kevin SPEEDS along. Justin looks out the back. He flaps his cowboy hat in the air and whoops. JUSTIN We dominate! We totally fucking dominate!

No cops.

91.

Kevin's scanner suddenly announces squad cars joining from east and north. Kevin turns west. Then they see a helicopter overhead. FBI. Oh shit.

JUSTIN (CONT'D) Oh fuck...

THE PORSCHE BLASTS through a residential area, the chopper following. They turn onto a descending hillside, turning them 180 degrees, throwing off the chopper. Kevin pulls over. JUSTIN What the hell are you doing? Follow me!

KEVIN

He hops out. Justin follows. Kevin runs, touching car hoods. A DOG BARKS. The chopper swings around. EXT. BOTTOM OF LAUREL LANE - NIGHT Two cop cars block Laurel Lane. jumps out.

Vonner drives up and

FBI AGENT They're not coming out. Must be on foot. But we got 'em pinned. INT. FBI CHOPPER An infrared scanner has an image of the streets below. small, red figure is picked up. The CO-PILOT points. Too small.

A

FBI PILOT A dog. Keep going.

EXT. KING'S PLACE - NIGHT Kevin and Justin cut through a yard onto a street. We hear the CHOPPER APPROACHING. An arguing couple gets out of a car. Kevin leads Justin closer. As the couple goes inside, Kevin pulls Justin under the car. The chopper flies slowly by -- so close, their hair blows in its wind. INT. CHOPPER The infrared scanner picks up the warm engine below, but not the bodies under it. The chopper flies on.

92.

EXT. UNDER PARKED CAR KEVIN Gimme your cell phone. Justin hands it over. EXT. KING'S PLACE - NIGHT A cab comes to a stop. Kevin and Justin roll out from under the parked car and jump in. INT. CAB - NIGHT The cab makes its way out of the hills. patrol car.

They pass a

JUSTIN When you ditched the Porsche, I thought, he's cracked. But it was a ballsy move... When are you going back for it? KEVIN I'm leaving it. JUSTIN You're leaving the greatest pussycatching machine in history? Tell me you're joking -KEVIN Justin! It's just a car! I don't feel like going to prison over it, okay?! Kevin steams.

Justin sulks.

JUSTIN You're no better than me, you know. You like to think you are, but you're not. Kevin turns sharply, Justin's words hitting home.

Then:

KEVIN (to himself) Oh what the hell do you know? INT. SHERMAN OAKS CONTROL OFFICE - NIGHT The Misfits show Vonner and Mitchell their find: S.A.S. console. SUBNORMAL This is why we couldn't trace him.

The

93.

UGLY We've been looking for love in all the wrong places. PAC BELL EMPLOYEE What are you talking about? S.A.S. is vacuum tubes and trippers. Sixties line testing technology. The Misfits snort en masse and look at him like he's an idiot. Not the taken a a flame records it.

SUBNORMAL way Kevin uses it. He's toaster and turned it into thrower. We pulled the of calls routed through

Citibank.

SORCERER Bank of Boston.

Chase.

VONNER He's going to divert a money transfer. UGLY It's what I'd do. VONNER How many of these are in the system? PAC BELL EMPLOYEE Can't be more than half a dozen now. Vonner grabs the S.A.S. power line -- and rips it out. Find them.

VONNER

EXT. LAUREL LANE - DAY Justin walks past the Porsche. Nobody around, he goes back, pretends to admire it, then hops in, pops a cigarette in his mouth and hot wires the car. FBI AGENTS come out of their hiding places, guns drawn. FBI #1 Freeze, or we'll take your fucking head off! Hey, guys.

JUSTIN What's up?

94.

INT. JUSTIN'S APARTMENT - DAY Cops tag stolen items: Car radios, Pac Bell computers, TVs. Justin is handcuffed. Vonner sits in front of him. Mitchell hovers. MITCHELL Mr. Peterson, that's a fiftythousand dollar car out there. That's grand larceny. You've got ten TV's, sixteen car radios, and a hell of a lot of silverware to explain. VONNER Two choices. Get a good lawyer and end up in county for five to ten. Or give us Poulsen. JUSTIN (studies them) Kevin's paranoid about letting people know where he lives. But I traced him. Got as far as the Cedros central office, anyway. He's in the Cedros service area. That's all that Sorcerer needed to hear. SORCERER We got him. MITCHELL What do you mean, you got him? EXT. JUSTIN'S BUILDING - DAY Ron is watching Justin's place. The animated Sorcerer talks to Vonner and Mitchell as they get in their cars. INT. ISG OPERATIONS ROOM - NIGHT The computer Misfits are hard at work. A map hangs on a wall, the Cedros Central office is epicenter, a ten-block circle drawn around it. Many buildings are Xed in red. Misfit #1 is Xing off another. MISFIT #2 (holding cell phone) Vonner wants to know what's up. UGLY (feet up, doing nothing) Tell him so far tonight we've woken up half the neighborhood with Sorcerer's bright ideas.

95.

SORCERER It'll work. We know he lives in the area. We pump a signal building to building, ringing all the phones simultaneously. If there's extra lines he's put in we'll get lower than expected amperage feedback -MISFIT #5 I didn't say it wouldn't work. It's just not very elegant, is it? Sorcerer turns red and hyperventilates. MISFIT #3 (reading off monitor) Three three four Felix Avenue -twenty lines... That's 87 amperes. MISFIT #4 Giving everyone a wake-up call... He runs a program. The screen reads: 334 Felix Ave." Then: "87 amperes." that building. 87.

"PHONES RINGING: Misfit #1 X-es off

MISFIT #4 (CONT'D) No unaccounted for lines.

SUBNORMAL (to Misfit #2) Tell Vonner we've got Felix Avenue, 300 block covered. The FBI should check buildings on the streets just north of Ventura. We'll start ringing the 400 block. EXT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - MORNING A STREET SIGN: his apartment.

FELIX AVENUE. CRANE DOWN as Kevin exits His address is 519.

EXT. STREET - DAY Crystal is walking. She looks up and stops, surprised. Ron is waiting. He hands her a thick printout. CRYSTAL What's this supposed to be? RON Kevin's indictment. She hesitates, then starts reading, flipping pages -RON (CONT'D) He's been on the run over a year -She throws the papers down and walks off.

Ron follows.

96.

CRYSTAL I can't believe this. Fuck both of you!

Fuck Kevin!

RON You should be angry. He did a lot of crazy, stupid, illegal things, but in his favor he was always doing what he thought was right -CRYSTAL I don't give a fuck about that. He should have told me. RON They've charged him with espionage. That means they've got everyone from the N.S.A. to Batman after him. They're going to catch him. And soon. I don't know what to say except... he needs us. CRYSTAL He lied to me from breath one.

EXT. STREET - DAY Kevin at a pay phone retrieving his messages. RON (V.O.) (on voicemail) Kevin, what's going on? Are you even getting these messages? The Feds have Justin -INT. KEVIN'S VAN - DAY Kevin drives his neighborhood. Passing a 7-Eleven, he sees a dark sedan. Two suited men talk to the owner, handing him a circular. Fuck. He jots down the plate number. Then passes two men and a Pac Bell repairman looking at phone lines on the side of a building. INT. KEVIN'S APT. - DAY Kevin, all business, flicks on the scanner. Nothing. Weird. He fires up S.A.S. and pulls out the plate number he jotted down. But over the phone line we hear: "This number has been disconnected..." Kevin can't believe it. Disconnected? He grabs a phone and dials the S.A.S. number. Same message. He blanches.

97.

INT. KEVIN'S APT. - LATER Kevin packing. Out a window he sees a dark sedan cruise by. The driver using a cell phone. Then he spots Ron parking. Ron gets out. Kevin smiles. Crystal gets out. INT. KEVIN'S APARTMENT - DAY Kevin opens the door on Crystal.

Ron hangs back.

CRYSTAL Well, if it isn't public enemy number one. She holds up a flyer the FBI gave her. Poulsen."

"Wanted:

CRYSTAL (CONT'D) Is it true what they say? That you can call the Oval Office direct, have your finger on the nuclear trigger, leap tall buildings in a single bound? KEVIN They know about the leaping stuff, huh?... Crystal, I'm sorry, I should have told you. I wanted to. When we started dating I didn't because, you know, and as things progressed, I... I was afraid. CRYSTAL What did you think? I've never broken the law? I've... jaywalked. I've sped. I've probably smoked enough pot to supply a reggae festival. (as they laugh) So, I'm not on the F.B.I.'s most wanted list... KEVIN I'm glad you're here, you don't know how glad, but you should go. CRYSTAL If you can't get near me when you want, what makes you think you can get rid of me when you want? She kisses him.

He holds her, happy to feel her.

CRYSTAL (CONT'D) But if you ever fucking lie to me again, I'll kill you.

Kevin

98.

RON (saunters in) Okay. I'm glad you guys worked that out. (looks out the window) Nice neighborhood. KEVIN Until the F.B.I. moved in and ruined it. Some papers on Kevin's desk grab Ron's attention. RON A money transfer? You're going to steal a money transfer? CRYSTAL You can do that? KEVIN Not anymore. They shut down S.A.S. It's over. Kevin goes back to packing. Ron stares at the pages, then turns to Crystal. She's looking at him, a trace of hope in her eyes. RON There's always a work-around. Kevin looks at Ron, surprised.

He thinks about that.

KEVIN Maybe... But should I do it? CRYSTAL Should you? With money, you could get away, leave the country. You'd be safe -She stops herself. Kevin is looking at Ron. Ron looks back. This is between them. Ron goes to the wall and pulls down The Hacker Manifesto with Capt. Crunch's signature which Kevin has had since they were kids. RON I know what all this means to you, but you can't let it send you to prison. Crystal comes from behind Kevin and wraps her arms around him. Kevin is thinking -- when ALL the PHONES in the building suddenly RING, REVERBERATING. KEVIN (figures it out) They're checking for lines! go. Now.

Let's

99.

INT. LOBBY - SAME TIME They run down the stairs into the lobby and see an FBI agent sauntering up the walk. They freeze. EXT. STREET - DAY Vonner hangs up his cell phone and yells to Mitchell. VONNER 519 Felix, apartment three! FBI agents run for their cars. INT. KEVIN'S BUILDING The agent enters the lobby. Kevin, Ron and Crystal are backing up the stairs out of his line of sight. RON Let's go to your apartment, call his dispatch to patch us through to his cell phone -KEVIN No time -(pulls out apparatus) I'll send out a microwave signal that at least can get it to ring -Listening to them, Crystal just shakes her head -- then tucks the bottom of her shirt up under her bra. She squares her jaw and heads out into the lobby. KEVIN (CONT'D) Crystal, what're you doing --? Crystal catches the agent's eye and smiles at him flirtatiously. As she reaches him, he smiles back and -She head butts him, knocking him flat. Kevin and Ron are peeking out from the stairwell, their heads close to the floor, watching, incredulous. KEVIN (CONT'D) That'll do. EXT./INT. VAN - DAY They run out and jump in the van. Get down!

Ron drives.

RON

Kevin hits the floor as FBI CARS SCREAM past. We GLIMPSE Vonner and Mitchell. Agents run toward Kevin's building. Kevin is on the floor, looking up at Crystal.

100.

CRYSTAL You do what you have to. Whatever it is, I'll love you for it. EXT. PHONE COMPANY HEADQUARTERS - NIGHT Pac Bell headquarters.

An imposing '30s deco building.

A cleaning van pulls up.

A crew gets out.

INT. LOBBY - NIGHT The cleaning crew walks through the lobby. Kevin, dressed in the same steel grey as the cleaning crew, comes in, as if straggling behind. He passes the security guard, who pays him no attention. At the elevators, Kevin gets on a different elevator car. INT. ELEVATOR - NIGHT He goes to press 14, but it's key-locked.

He presses 15.

INT. 14TH FLOOR STAIRWELL - DOOR - NIGHT He pours graphite powder into the lock -- and picks it. INT. 14TH FLOOR HALLWAY - NIGHT Kevin makes his way carefully. As he turns a corner he sees his destination: The ISG operations room, light pouring into the hall. He looks inside and can't believe it. The Misfits are still here. INT. ISG OPERATIONS ROOM One sleeps in a chair, one on a desk. SubNormal stares at his computer. Ugly and Sorcerer review manuals. Kevin looks longingly at an unused computer next to SubNormal. Then he spots an equipment room off the main room. But to get there he'd have to expose himself. UGLY I'm getting munchies. want?

Anybody

SORCERER Reeses and Jolt. SubNormal says nothing. Kevin makes a hasty retreat as Ugly starts out. He turns a corner -- but there's a guard. He backs up, stuck between them. There's a door. He pulls out his lock picking tools but there's no time! He looks up. There's a transom above the door. He leaps up, pushes it open, squeezes through -- as the guard comes around the corner -- and Ugly steps into the hall.

101.

UGLY Hey, George. INT. ROOM - NIGHT Kevin hangs from the transom. He hears them move on, then drops to the floor. He looks around. There's a photo of Vonner as a cadet. Kevin smiles. It's Vonner's office. Books on electronic trespass, technical volumes, the California Penal Code. He rummages the desk. And finds an 8x10 of his own face staring back at him. He sees some business cards and pockets them. He sticks his head out the window. It's a long way down, no ledge, no way to get to the room he wants. Damn. He thinks. He looks up. There's a dropped ceiling. He steps on a desk, pulls out a panel and hoists himself up. The CEILING FRAME CREAKS under his weight. INT. CEILING Silently he makes his way along, clinging to the metal infrastructure the building wiring runs along, about eight inches above the panels. INT. STAIRWELL Ugly takes a shortcut back from the candy machine. As he unlocks the door Kevin picked, he notices the graphite powder. What the hell? INT. CEILING Kevin is over the equipment room. He lifts off a panel -and freezes. He misjudged. He's above the upturned, openmouthed face of Misfit #1, sleeping in his chair. The other Misfits are close by. MISFIT #2 What do you suppose he's up to right now? SORCERER Freaking out. SUBNORMAL (still focused on monitor) Kevin Poulsen does not freak out. Sorcerer raises an eybrow. Kevin replaces the panel -- but it slips, dropping. He just barely grabs it. He replaces it and moves forward.

102.

INT. EQUIPMENT ROOM - DAY Shoes tied to his shoulder, Kevin quietly drops down. The VOICES of the ISG filter in through the doorway between the two rooms as Kevin checks out the equipment. He sits at a console and goes to work. INT. ISG OPERATIONS ROOM - DAY Ugly comes in and tosses the Reeses and Jolt to Sorcerer. UGLY Look at this. SORCERER What's that? UGLY It was all over the lock in the stairwell. SubNormal is suddenly paying attention. look.

He swivels for a

SUBNORMAL That's graphite powder. They all look at each other. desk, speaks.

Misfit #3, sleeping on the

MISFIT #3 Somebody's broken in. security.

Better call

He sits up, grabs the phone and dials. INT. EQUIPMENT ROOM Kevin is listening.

He works faster.

SUBNORMAL (O.S.) Have the guard meet us. I want to see this. INT. OPERATIONS ROOM SubNormal heads out, followed by everyone but Misfit #3 and Ugly, who stares at the powder on his finger, thinking. INT. STAIRWELL - NIGHT A security guard, SubNormal and the others stare at the powder in the lock. The guard grabs his walkie-talkie to raise the alarm. Kevin.

SUBNORMAL

103.

SORCERER Kevin? Why... why would Kevin come here? SubNormal starts heading back at a trot, the others at his heels. SUBNORMAL Because we cut off his lifeline. There must be something we have that he can use to get to the banks. INT. OPERATIONS ROOM Ugly has come to the same conclusion. He's looking at the equipment room doorway. He walks toward it, passing the still-sleeping Misfit #1. What?

MISFIT #3

INT. EQUIPMENT ROOM Kevin is clipping his tape recorder to transmission wires at the back of the console. The same tape recorder he used to record SAS commands and to access SAS from home. AT THRESHOLD BETWEEN TWO ROOMS Ugly and Misfit #3 approach nervously. They hear the CLACKING of a KEYBOARD and stop, looking at each other. They continue. They enter to see Kevin typing away. UGLY Jesus Christ. What the hell are you doing here?! KEVIN What does it look like? UGLY Call security. KEVIN You sure you want to do that? Misfit #3 hesitates. Of course.

Kevin continues typing like mad. UGLY Why wouldn't we?

KEVIN I don't know. I mean it's one thing to catch me hacker to hacker. But security. That's guns, batons, fist fights. I didn't think that was your style. Ugly, right?

104.

UGLY What are we supposed to do, let you take the money and get away? KEVIN Still, walking in on me typing is not exactly hacker sleuthing. Can you be proud of that? Why don't you just let me go and catch me the honorable way? On-line. UGLY That's absurd. We forced you to come in here because we cut off S.A.S. That's hacking. Exactly.

MISFIT #3 So we can call security.

Sweat beads on Kevin's brow as he works away. KEVIN I don't know... You sure? Misfit #3 and Ugly look at each other, think about it and nod. UGLY Yeah, we're sure. Kevin presses enter. A program launches. Screen after screen of incomprehensible symbols. Then it goes blank. Okay.

KEVIN

Kevin stands and grabs his bag to go -- as the rest of the ISG comes tumbling in. Kevin stops. Their reactions range from dismay to religious awe. SubNormal looks at Ugly and Misfit #3. SUBNORMAL Did you call security? MISFIT #3 We were about to. Kevin walks right at them and... they back up and part before him. MISFIT #3 (CONT'D) You're really here. Kevin Poulsen. I can't believe it. Man, you are the king. SORCERER There's five of us. him. That doesn't go over. toward Kevin.

We can jump

Misfit #3 thrusts a document

105.

MISFIT #3 Will you sign my UNIX manual? SORCERER I'm calling security. He reaches for the phone. for the door. Wait --

Kevin is past them, heading

SUBNORMAL

He points to Sorcerer, who pauses dialing at the very last number. SUBNORMAL (CONT'D) -- Kevin! (as Kevin stops, turns) How much did you take? Kevin just smiles and runs out the door. Sorcerer pushes the last button on the phone to call security -INT. HALL Kevin runs towards the elevators. But the doors open on one to reveal two SECURITY GUARDS. He runs back. They chase him. He runs past the ISG again, into the stairwell. They just watch him go. MISFIT #2 (to passing Guards) It's Kevin Poulsen. GUARD #1 (into radio) The intruder is Kevin Poulsen! Kevin Poulsen! INT. STAIRWELL Kevin gallops down. At the eighth floor he checks the door -- locked -- he continues. He looks up and glimpses the Guards stampeding after him. INT. VONNER'S HOUSE - NIGHT Vonner's PHONE RINGS, waking him. INT. PAC BELL HEADQUARTERS - STAIRWELL - NIGHT Kevin hits the fifth floor -- and two guards pop out. Kevin throws his tied-together shoes at the Guards like bolos. They spin through the air -- and miss them completely. Kevin barrels into them and all go down. Kevin gets up first and runs.

106.

INT. LOBBY Kevin rushes out to see two guards and cops arriving out front, lights flashing. He slides to a stop on his socks. All eyes turn. He turns and runs. Guards come out of the stairwell and all his pursuers converge. Kevin turns down a hall and enters a door -INT. MAIL ROOM Kevin leaps over the counter. Three pursuers do the same. He runs to the back, looking desperately for an out. He spies the package chute and dives into it. INT. BASEMENT Kevin falls from the chute and slams onto some sharpedged boxes in a cart. Stunned, he takes a breath. COP #1 (O.S.) (from above) He's in the basement! Kevin jumps out. He glances back and forth down the quiet, fluorescent-lit basement. The loading dock gates locked. He heads toward a hallway and turns the corner. Guards and COPS burst out the stairwell and split up. Kevin takes a corner, sliding on his socks. Six pursuers take the corner and glimpse him taking the far corner. He's here!

COP #2 (O.S.) This way!

Kevin turns onto a short hall -- with no outlet. He hears guards coming. There's three doors. He picks one. INT. MAINFRAME ROOM He runs in. It's bright. The WHIR of COMPUTER FANS and the SWISH of the large reel-to-reels taking a half turn are the only noises. KEVIN'S POV of three walls.

Machines.

No other doors.

OVERHEAD SHOT - ENTIRE BASEMENT as if the roof were off. Kevin stands alone in the mainframe room. Guards search halls and rooms nearby, closing in. Kevin's the cheese at the end of the maze. SWISH DOWN TO Kevin. He goes to the mainframe against the wall. And squeezes behind it. He slides along.

107.

In the corner he finds what he's looking for: a panel that has a hole through which cables run. He whips out an electric screwdriver and unscrews the panel. There's a passage. He slips in and puts the panel back in place. Two Cops enter, look all around, check behind the mainframe and exit. INT. VONNER'S CAR Vonner is speeding while talking on his cell phone. Update me.

VONNER

LOBBY GUARD (V.O.) (over phone) It's alright. He's cornered in the basement. We're searching room to room. VONNER The basement! (slams on brakes) That is not alright! Get everyone to the access panel in the east wall of the mainframe room. That will lead you to a circuit passage. Poulsen is in there! INT. CIRCUIT PASSAGEWAY This is the electrical sewer -- the underground system through which electrical and data lines for downtown buildings pass. Surrounded by cables and tubes of various sizes and colors, Kevin makes his way. He drops his screwdriver and it ECHOES in the vast passages. INT. MAINFRAME ROOM Cops and Guards barrel in. They slide behind the mainframe, yank off the access panel, and go in. INT. VONNER'S CAR LOBBY GUARD (V.O.) (over phone) I have the map, sir. VONNER At the east wall of the mainframe room you will see a series of red, green, and blue lines leaving the building from the access panel. Follow the blue line. You will eventually see a circle with an X in the middle. Where is that?

108.

LOBBY GUARD (V.O.) (over phone) There is a circled red X and a blue X at Fifth and Olive. Vonner PEELS OUT. INT. CIRCUITRY PASSAGEWAY Kevin runs. Up ahead he sees streetlight coming through some holes. It's a manhole cover. He reaches the ladder and starts up -- but someone is removing the manhole cover. Kevin stops. He backs down and away as the person climbs down. It's Vonner. They stand 20 feet apart, studying each other. The sounds of the COPS APPROACHING from behind ECHO in the passageway. VONNER You know something, Poulsen? It's a tragedy when you don't know who you are. And you, Kevin, are a thief. A common criminal after money. Like your pal Justin. Vonner walks toward Kevin.

Kevin backs up.

KEVIN Karl -- I think I can call you that now -- you don't know anything about me. But I want you to know one thing. I never even thought about taking money until you went after me. Drove me underground. Perjured yourself. When did you decide to break the law? Between some tubing above, Kevin spots an access grating. VONNER Sorry, you'll have to rationalize your actions by yourself. I'm not handing out absolutions today. The cops are almost there, The FOOTFALLS LOUDER. KEVIN Yeah, well then maybe another day. Kevin grabs the tubing and struggles to get on top of it. Vonner runs at him. Kevin almost falls -- but makes it up as Vonner grabs the tubes. Kevin pushes open the grating as the tubes strain under Vonner's weight. Kevin goes out the hole as Vonner is up and -EXT. STREET Vonner lunges through the hole after Kevin, grabbing his leg.

109.

But Vonner gets stuck -- the hole too small for him. Kevin pulls away, leaving nothing but a sock in Vonner's hands -- and runs off. INT. EQUIPMENT ROOM - MORNING The Misfits are at computes working feverishly. and a bleary-eyed Vonner are pacing.

Mitchell

MITCHELL You had him. Right here! SORCERER Hey, we're programmers. It's not our job to hunt him down with guns and let him slip through our fingers. SUBNORMAL I don't get it. I can't find anything. He did it right here. How do you transfer a pile of money without a trace? VONNER But you can find him? SORCERER Let's see. It's 9:30 here. That's 11:30 out East. Say he hopped a red-eye to New York last night... By now he's halfway to the Caribbean. All the Misfits turn away from their computers. MISFIT #1 Yeah, he's long gone. Daiquiris.

MISFIT #3 Beach front house.

MISFIT #2 Guy like that. Probably set up some commodities trading company out of Montserrat or the Caymans. UGLY ... Hey, he's bound to need programmers. They all perk up, even SubNormal. Sorcerer starts putting papers in his briefcase. Vonner and Mitchell look at each other, ashen-faced. An unattended console suddenly comes alive, running a program. All eyes turn. The screen flashes incomprehensible characters. Ugly and SubNormal come running. They punch keys but it has no effect. Under the console, Kevin's tape recorder starts to play.

110.

The SEVEN PHONES in the room RING. As their RINGS trail off, PHONES can be heard RINGING in nearby offices. Everyone looks at each other. The phone rings again. SubNormal types at his computer. SUBNORMAL Wow. Look at this. Every phone in California is ringing right now. He's got every C.O. in the state looped through the system we set up. The PHONES RING again.

SubNormal hits a speaker phone.

KEVIN (V.O.) (over speaker phone) In honor of mothers and grandmothers everywhere, and to express our gratitude to our valued customers, Pacific Bell is proud to announce that this Mother's Day weekend all long distance calls will be free of charge. SubNormal and Ugly look at each other, incredulous. INT. RON'S BEDROOM Ron is in bed, listening on his phone.

He laughs.

INT. EAST L.A. KITCHEN A modest home. wife and kids.

DAD is on the phone.

He turns to his

DAD Claudia, we can call anyone for free! All weekend! Monica, let's call la tia -INT. DEN (BERKELEY) -- MIDDLE-AGED GUY on the phone. MIDDLE-AGED GUY Is this Bob? Bob Jacobson? Hey, it's Mike Brainin, from Ferndale High. You know, the pep band... That's right, it's me, Scurvy -- ! INT. OLD FOLKS' HOME An ANCIENT WOMAN is in a comfy chair, grinning. ANCIENT WOMAN Well, hello!

111.

TRACKING ALONG TELEPHONE LINES we hear various voices. VARIOUS VOICES (V.O.) Ma! -- Hi, Dad! -- Is that you, Evelyn? -- Hello? -- Eugene -Hey, Nathan! -- Shango -- C'est moi! -- Vlad! -- Rose! -- Mom! -Dad! -- Mom! We PULL OVERLAP there's MUSICAL

WIDER, MOVING OVER suburban houses. VOICES as we FLY OVER a neighborhood, then the city and nothing but a CACOPHONY of "Moms" and "Dads." TONES reminiscent of an AT&T commercial come up.

SUPERIMPOSE ON BOTTOM OF SCREEN: BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER.

KEVIN POULSEN.

INT. HUGHES - DAY The market we saw Kevin caught in.

He walks the aisles.

KEVIN (V.O.) In the end, we are the choices we make. I knew what my choice would bring and I was at peace with myself. MUZAK. He buys some wine. Some chocolate. He approaches the condoms -- and passes them by. UP FRONT The manager has a TV tuned to the news. It's a press conference, a Pac Bell spokesperson being savaged. REPORTER #1 (V.O.) Why is Pac Bell rescinding its offer? PAC BELL SPOKESPERSON (V.O.) As I said, the recording was not authorized -REPORTER #2 (V.O.) Are you expecting everyone to believe that someone not in the phone company was able to send a recording to every home in the state? PAC BELL SPOKESPERSON (V.O.) It wasn't us! REPORTER #1 (V.O.) People have heard your recording and are making calls. Is Pac Bell charging them?

112.

PAC BELL SPOKESPERSON (V.O.) Phone calls are not free -REPORTER #2 (V.O.) So are you saying its California customers are not valued by Pac Bell? Behind the Pac Bell spokesperson, we spot Vonner putting his head in his hands. The TV cuts to the news anchor. NEWS ANCHOR (V.O.) Shortly after that news conference, Pac Bell reversed itself. Phone calls will be free to its California customers all weekend. EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS watching, applaud what they just heard. Kevin gets in line at the checkout, wondering what the fuss is about. WOMAN They couldn't take the bad publicity. (off Kevin's look) Pac Bell. Gonna cost 'em millions. (leans in) Good. I hate the phone company. GUY IN FRONT OF HER Everybody hates the phone company. ANGLE ON CASHIER who jumped Kevin in the morning. He's on another pay phone by the door. Talking to his mother. Hey, Ma!

CASHIER It's me.

How ya doing? CUT TO:

KEVIN takes his bag from the bagger and heads out. Kevin, Justin is here and spots Kevin.

Unseen by

KEVIN (V.O.) I was held without bail for over three years. Justin can't believe it. He pulls out Mitchell's business card and goes to the pay phone.

113.

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) Then right before trial they had a change of heart brought about by a total lack of evidence. They dropped every charge I originally ran from, including espionage. Justin reaches in a pocket for a quarter, then remembers. He doesn't need one. He dials. It connects. Cool. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) What they got me on were things I did while running from the bogus charges. QUICK CUT TO: RICK DEES on the stand, pointing to Kevin.

FREEZE FRAME.

INT. HUGHES - NIGHT FBI agents interview Hughes employees, MOS, and hand out Kevin's mug shot. INT. CRYSTAL'S APARTMENT - NIGHT There's flowers on the dining table, which is nicely laid out. Kevin pours he and Crystal each a glass of wine. CRYSTAL I picked up our costumes for Vlad's party. KEVIN What'd you get me? She reaches in a bag and pulls out a striped prison shirt and cap. You bitch.

KEVIN (CONT'D)

They both start laughing hysterically. the couch and they start making out.

He pulls her onto

KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) I reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor for time served. But then the F.B.I. had a little tete-a-tete with the judge in chambers. Kevin opens up a window behind the couch and screams. KEVIN (CONT'D) Come and get me, you dirty screws!

114.

CRYSTAL (leans out window) Yeah! Come and get him, you dirty screws! They fall back on the couch. He kisses her neck provocatively. She moans a bit. His head comes up. Damn.

KEVIN I forgot to buy something.

What?

CRYSTAL

He gives her a last kiss. EXT. HUGHES MARKET - NIGHT The large red and white Hughes sign. KEVIN (V.O.) The judge tacked on another two and a half years, saying I was a threat to law enforcement activities abroad. CRANE DOWN from the sign to see Kevin THROUGH the window of the market as the Cashier leaps across and wrestles him to the ground. KEVIN (V.O.) (CONT'D) I wasn't asked my opinion. EXT. HUGHES PARKING LOT - NIGHT A handcuffed Kevin is pulled out of the market by the FBI. Vonner pulls up. He and Kevin's eyes connect as Mitchell shoves Kevin in a car and closes the door. VONNER I just don't get it. he take the money? Who cares? done.

Why didn't

MITCHELL We got him.

Vonner's CELL PHONE RINGS.

He's

He answers it.

VONNER Vonner... yes, sir, he was -- of course I'm aware -- no, sir, I don't have a hundred and eighty million dollars... Of course... I understand... I understand... Mitchell decides it's time to move on. car. Everyone pulls out in a caravan.

He gets in his

115.

INT./EXT. KEVIN'S FBI CAR - NIGHT Kevin sits silently. We see Vonner out the back window, being left behind like a distant memory. KEVIN (V.O.) They gave me my phone call. I called Ron, told him the ducks have flown south for the winter. He knew what I meant. INT. KEVIN'S COMMAND CENTER - DAY Ron is shredding and moving out computers and equipment. KEVIN (V.O.) Once again, the phone was my friend. CUT TO: THE DOOR bursts open. Mitchell and an FBI team swarm in. The place is completely empty. Except for one thing. Mitchell sees an enveope on the floor. He picks it up and opens it. It's an unpaid Pac Bell phone bill. SERIES OF IMAGES END TITLES ROLL as SNOOP DOGGY DOG covers Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" over IMAGES of Kevin in prison: His parents visiting him with a birthday cake... CRYSTAL visiting, showing off a new belly button ring... KEVIN in his cell, making a complex piece of origami. His entire cell is covered with the intricate paper art... RON visiting, holding an LA Times artile: "HACKER JUSTIN PETERSON ARRESTED FOR DIVERTING MONEY TRANSFER"... JUSTIN in a prison cell of his own, completely demoralized.

116.

KEVIN walking out of prison. His family is waiting. him a big hug, then his mother does the same.

Dad gives

CUT TO: BLACK SUPERIMPOSITIONS FADE IN AND OUT: KEVIN WAS RELEASED FROM PRISON AFTER FIVE AND A HALF YEARS. AFTER HIS RELEASE, HE WAS FORBIDDEN TO USE A COMPUTER FOR 18 MONTHS. ALLOWED BACK ON A COMPUTER, HE WAS FORBIDDEN TO USE THE INTERNET FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHS. THREE MONTHS AGO, HE WAS ALLOWED BACK ON THE NET... A MODEM SCREECH fills the SOUNDTRACK, followed by... Welcome.

COMPUTER VOICE (V.O.) FADE OUT. THE END