CHARLIE: So, yeah, uh, remember that the fluid dynamics class has been moved this week to Friday at 10:00.
So, it's not at its normal time.
Okay, see you then. Bye-bye.
Charlie.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to startle you.
Rachel? Yeah. Hi, Charlie.
What-What are you doing here?
Aren't you supposed to be doing that Geospatial project over at Stanford?
No, I...
This is a list of names of people I know, that I've worked with recently.
Three of them are now dead.
Did you say dead? Yeah.
I think they found out something they weren't supposed to know.
They were k*lled, even though it doesn't look like it.
And I think they're going to k*ll me as well.
How did they die, Rachel?
It's complicated. Look, I can't...
I can't explain it right here. Not... not now.
Have you gone to the police?
No, no, no, I can't trust them.
But you can trust me?
I know you.
I know you're who you say you are.
If you take me to your brother, I'll believe he's your brother.
All right.
I'll take you to see my brother Don, tomorrow, at the FBI.
Thank you.
I'll meet you here in the morning.
And I'll bring documentation, just, please, look at those names.
They shouldn't be dead, but they are.
Rachel...
A conspiracy, huh?
I guess so, I mean, with this woman Rachel Lawton, it's always something, you know?
Wacky, is she? Uh, maybe a little yeah.
She was into these odd ideas in grad school.
Like for instance, uh, she once posed that certain top scientists were actually aliens sent here to help mankind.
She probably knew Larry.
That's the thing about Rachel, she was always quite a brilliant thinker and she was usually a lot of fun to hang out with.
So, uh, what's her field?
She's a statistician -- specializing in demography.
Oh.
There are some crazy conspiracies, you know.
Sometimes it takes a brilliant, nutty thinker to spot one.
The only trouble is, usually the kind of people nobody believes.
MAN: Subject suffered a cardiac arrest.
A result of a massive absorption of acetaminophen, hydrocodone and alcohol.
My preliminary finding is Rachel Lawton d*ed of a non-accidental overdose of prescription medication.
Hey, thanks very much.
All right?
She was scared, upset, and maybe a little erratic, but, uh, she didn't seem suicidal.
Look, I got a quick background here.
I mean, you know, she was going to a therapist for two years.
For what?
For depression.
The employment records show she, she had emotional outbursts, questionable stability, you know...
So, that's, that's the end of it then?
No, I mean, we'll do a basic follow-up, but, I mean, I don't think it's going anywhere.
Come on, let's get out of here.
OSWALD: Hey, Charlie.
Oswald.
Thanks for stopping by.
I mean, don't thank me yet.
I figured you wanted to talk to me more about enrolling or whatever.
Yeah.
Specialized program.
For people like you.
High school dropouts that are obsessed with fantasy baseball?
Gifted people who lack traditional educations.
Ah. That's a nice way of putting it.
But, Charlie, I'm just not a CalSci guy.
I'm horrible at tests.
Like, the worst.
I can't talk to professors.
You talk to me. Yeah, but we met over baseball stats.
That's the one thing I know.
Oswald, with some training, man, you, you really could work in any field you wanted to.
What is this? Ten million to one?
It's the odds of a woman and three people she worked with dying in a two week period.
I knew her.
I identified her body this morning at the morgue.
Oh, Charlie, that's awful.
I'm sorry. Yeah.
She claimed that these people were k*lled because of something they knew.
What about this guy that's not checked off?
Still alive, I guess.
RECEPTIONIST: Berkeley Political Science Department.
Hello. Uh...
I'm trying to reach Dr. Robert Reynolds. I, um...
I'm sorry.
Dr. Reynolds is no longer with us.
Are you a friend or a family member?
That's okay. Thank you.
Charlie, what are the odds that these five people would die in a two week period?
About 700 million to one.
Which means Rachel was telling me the truth.
DON: So five people all mid-20s to 40s, all in good health, and all dead within two weeks.
David.
Teresa King, computer scientist.
Rebecca Ortega, Sam Chambers statisticians.
And Robert Reynolds, political scientist.
No known connections.
Heart att*ck, asthma -- conditions that can be mimicked by dr*gs.
DAVID: Yeah, we also have the classics here.
Slipped in the bathtub, car accident, self-administered drug overdose.
What about doing a second autopsy on Rachel Lawton?
Yeah, we already requested it.
COLBY: And if Charlie's wrong, and these are five random deaths?
Well, that's why we got to find something solid.
Otherwise, I mean, you know, I don't want to waste our time here.
Hey... am I losing you?
Pardon?
Some memo from DC about a special detachment to the D.O.J.?
No, uh... they called and I said it probably isn't for me.
Probably...
Isn't.
Okay.
Hey, I found some more journals with articles by Rachel Lawton.
Oh, thank you. Yeah.
Any idea what she's currently working on?
No, not yet.
She published a lot, on a variety of topics.
You know, she, she came to a seminar that I taught in San Diego.
Really? Yeah.
She was a bright girl, you know, creative thinker.
It's just a shame. You know, it's just a shame.
Who kills a statistician?
You know, one of our stats guys got a death thr*at once.
Yeah.
For doing expert testimony in a water rights case.
Isn't that what got your special admissions candidate guy into trouble -- baseball stats, huh?
Yeah.
Actually he may not be applying.
Hmm?
He's scared that he may not be able to handle it.
Well, we've all been there, huh?
Except for maybe you.
You know, when we have students who lack confidence, sometimes we get them interested in a really good problem.
You know, just get them obsessed, and then they forget that they're afraid.
Hmm.
Like what's this guy into? Girls.
Skateboarding.
Baseball.
Statistics.
(fast, hip-hop music plays)
CHARLIE: You know, you just broke the law with that little trick.
The law of conservation of angular momentum.
Ah. Wait, is that Sir Isaac Newton going to come and bust me?
Charlie, you're not gonna hard sell me on this college thing, are you?
No. Actually, I, uh...
I kind of need your help.
We searched the hotel room where Rachel Lawton d*ed, but we didn't find any of the documentation she told Charlie about.
Now we have to go through what she had on her when she d*ed.
Well, that's everything, so...
COLBY: This is it, huh?
Hey, man, check the bag for pens.
Pens? What for?
You didn't get that memo on corporate espionage?
Yeah, they make pens where they can put the flash drive on the inside.
Well, what else can they put flash drives in?
Key chains, rubber duckies.
Rubber ducky flash drive?
I want one of those. Yeah.
How 'bout a watch?
OSWALD: This is about those five people that d*ed, isn't it?
Well, Oswald, they must have known something and were k*lled to keep it a secret.
This problem's becoming a bit dangerous.
That being said, I have already been sh*t at once.
Oh, hey.
Hey, Professor.
COLBY: Perfect timing. DAVID: Oswald.
Good to see you. Fellas.
Um... maybe I should step out.
Uh, you know what? If it's all right with the FBI, I would love to utilize Mr. Kittner's statistical analysis skills on this case.
Mr. Kittner?
So what do you guys got?
You've got a watch.
It's Rachel Lawton's.
Ah, yeah, it's a flash drive.
Here.
Yeah, you just open this and all you need is a USB cable.
USB. Perfect.
Plug that in there.
That plugs directly into your computer.
That I do know about.
This is some sort of statistical raw data, pertaining to what I'm not exactly sure.
Oswald.
I have no idea what those headings mean.
This is going to be tough.
The best problems always are.
DAVID: One connection between Rachel Lawton and the other dead people -- they all worked in statistical analysis.
And statisticians usually work freelance -- they go from project to project.
Hired by corporations, governments, political campaigns.
I found a more specific connection to three out of five of them.
DAVID: J. Everett Tuttle.
The billionaire?
Yeah, he's a hedge fund manager, he's into philanthropy and politics.
Three of the people on Rachel's list worked for one of his companies.
That's not much.
I mean, a financial wiz hiring statisticians.
"Not much" is all we have.
I finished the forensic autopsy on Rachel Lawton.
It was smart to request a second one.
Why? What do you got?
Apparently, her k*ller didn't have a lot of patience.
Although she had a potentially lethal dose of alcohol and painkillers in her, Rachel Lawton d*ed of asphyxiation.
How?
She had traces of cotton fiber in her lungs, likely suffocated from a pillow or towel after she was unconscious.
Sort of thing that, in the absence of suspicious circumstances, might be missed.
So we're not talking about five random deaths.
We've definitely have one m*rder on our hands.
We're gonna need forensic autopsies on the other victims.
I'll get it started.
We might be looking at five murders.
Yeah.
But we have no idea what they're about.
Five deaths, but so far you can only prove one was m*rder.
It's mathematically improbable that these deaths are coincidence.
Well, to make a case, we need a motive.
And live witnesses.
You say three of the dead did consulting work for J. Everett Tuttle?
Right, and what do you know about him?
Got a rep for playing dirty on Wall Street.
SEC made a run at him, got nowhere.
The New York AG indicted him on fraud, but two of the witnesses disappeared, and couldn't make a case.
Witnesses disappeared?
One was later found in Greece. The other never turned up.
You think he's capable of m*rder?
They think so in New York, but they had no evidence.
The guys are off to see Tuttle, let's see what they come up with, all right?
It's a great cardio workout.
Great way to get some firewood, too.
Yeah.
Well, you end up with something useful.
Sit on those exercise machines, you got nothing when you're done.
So, how can I help the FBI?
We're here to talk to you about three people who used to work for you.
Let's see.
Well, Sam Chambers did research for me.
And, uh...
I don't know the other two.
They were researchers as well.
I hire a lot of consultants.
I don't meet them all in person.
Well, these three all d*ed within the last few weeks.
I'm sorry to hear that.
What were they hired to do for you?
I'm not sure.
Would you check on that?
I'll get back to you.
Mr. Tuttle, do you know a Rachel Lawton?
Doesn't sound familiar.
What business do you actually do?
I retired a year ago.
Well...
I manage a hedge fund.
I serve on corporate boards.
Try to put more time into public service, that sort of thing.
And why do you employ statisticians and computer scientists?
To test stock market systems.
See, I'm still dreaming about finding that magic formula for striking it rich.
Some people would say you've already found it.
Take it from a guy with more than enough, it ain't never enough.
So, it looks like this Oswald kid bit pretty hard on the FBI hook, huh?
Yeah, yeah, no, he's really into it, but he still won't apply to CalSci.
What?
He doesn't quite grasp all the things he could accomplish here.
And I just don't know how to get that across to him.
Well, that's because your whole life is math and science, same with your students.
I mean, what, you were raised in the church here and you preach to the converted.
Just have to figure out a way to convert the heathen.
Yeah, well, here he comes.
Oswald.
Hey, Charlie.
Speak of the devil.
There's something off about Rachel's numbers.
Hi there. Hi, hi.
Go ahead.
I did what you said.
I printed them out without headings to search for patterns.
Didn't find any patterns, but there's definitely something off about her numbers.
I just can't put my finger on it, you know?
Let us take a look at it.
Here you go. Thanks.
You know what? That's a very good observation, Oswald.
Because there are too many sevens.
And threes. Too many for what?
Too many for this list to be random.
MILLIE: Yeah. For some reason, when people make up reports with numbers in them, they always put in way too many threes and sevens and not enough ones and twos.
Me, I think I'd use too many fours.
I mean, this way, you can not know what the numbers describe, but you can tell if someone's lying.
Mm.
And on that note, I have to go to work.
Bye-bye, Millie. Nice to meet you.
You, too. Thank you.
She was pleasant. Who's that?
That's Dr. Mildred Finch.
She's the chair of our math, physics and astronomy division.
Really?
She's easy to talk to.
Yeah, she is, a little bit.
So, anyway, how do we figure out what this is?
Well, we have applications that can help analyze unlabeled sets of numbers.
It's called meta-data.
It's information about data.
For instance, the numbers one, two, three, four and five are data.
They may refer to anything.
But let's say you found out that they refer to a zip code.
Well, then they mean something specific -- in this case, Schenectady, New York.
So we use that to figure out what Rachel's numbers are talking about.
Yeah, and then we may be able to figure out why she d*ed.
If you want a spooky guy to mastermind a conspiracy, J. Everett Tuttle is your pick.
Why do you say that?
We told him that three of his former employees d*ed in the last couple of weeks, didn't seem to care, didn't even ask how.
No concern for them, nothing for the families?
Not at all.
No, in fact, the only time he expressed any interest at all...
Don't tell me.
Was when you asked him about himself. Yeah. You got it right.
All right, we could have a self-absorbed, Type-A personality, or he could be a sociopath.
You got something new?
I do.
But I don't know what it means yet.
Four of the five dead people have consulted on political campaigns.
(typing)
Mostly high-end polling analysis.
But...
I'm still working my magic on that.
OSWALD: Hey, Charlie, what about the lottery?
Could we just be looking at Lotto numbers?
I mean... Watch your head.
New category. Oh, great.
Megan says that four of the researchers consulted for political campaigns.
Oh, so you think we're looking at, like, like, polling data or, uh, campaign contributions?
Maybe votes.
Lets see what happens when we compare Rachel's numbers to election returns.
ALAN: Hey, Donnie.
Do you ever think of moving back home?
Yeah, no thanks.
Well, I mean, you're here all the time lately.
You know, there's plenty of room.
Yeah, look, I like having somewhere else to go.
You know, my own little piece of privacy.
I yearned for that once, too, if you remember.
I remember.
Guess I thought I'd miss you guys too much.
(door opens) Hey.
So, Rachel's data might be election results.
We're gonna compare it to local and state returns.
ALAN: It wasn't su1c1de, it's a m*rder?
Yeah, looks that way.
This Rachel girl you met at grad school, I mean, were you...
Yeah, a bunch of us used to hang out -- she had a van.
So we'd all pile in, we'd go to movies, go to concerts or...
It's funny -- she'd always say we could spend our whole lives studying, but we'd only be young for a short while.
What are you...
You're not worried about how I'm handling this, are you?
Uh... yeah.
To be honest, I'm kind of concerned that it's not bothering me more.
It's all this FBI stuff, you know?
After a couple dozen m*rder cases, just isn't hitting me the same as it used to, even when I know the victim.
And that's, um... that's an unsettling realization.
Yeah, tell me about it.
Oh, so now I got two jaded, world-weary sons.
Yeah. This one's got a shrink to prove it.
CHARLIE: Hey.
So I ran Rachel's data against election returns, and this brute force data search found a match.
To an election here in L.A.?
Yeah, to the most recent county supervisor's election.
I think it's the sixth district.
Jason Brasher won, b*at a three-term incumbent.
Big upset. What, he stole it?
CHARLIE: Well, I'll tell you this: those vote totals should be random, and they aren't.
All right, this is starting to make sense.
J. Everett Tuttle was Brasher's largest contributor.
He was the driving force behind the campaign.
Rachel Lawton, she worked on Brasher's campaign.
Says that she did demographic analysis, Charlie.
MEEKS: Teresa King did freelance work for a computer company.
That same company had a contract with the Brasher campaign.
That's all five victims.
Oh, man, do we have to ask, you know?
The odds that this would be random, it's like the four of us getting hit by lightning on the way home tonight.
And it's not even raining.
So, Tuttle...
Yeah, I'm with you.
Now, California Elections Code requires an audit of five percent of touch-screen voting machines.
And here it is.
A preliminary audit indicated discrepancies, but the final report said the race was clean.
The auditor changed his mind?
We should talk to him, find out why.
That the house? That's the one.
Hey, hold on.
FBI. What happened here? Guy who lives here, looks like he slipped by the pool and hit his head, fell in and drowned.
Get everybody out. It's a crime scene.
Get everybody out right now.
Hey, everybody, we got to clear out.
Arman Cuthbert, auditor with the County Registrar.
There's no evidence of foul play, but, I mean, what do you think Charlie would say about those odds?
Why k*ll somebody over a county supervisor's seat?
L.A. County Supervisors are powerful.
Each reps over two million people -- more than many U.S. Senators.
They control a budget worth billions.
You think Tuttle rigged the election for Brasher?
It's looking like it.
The county's using these new electronic voting machines.
We'd better find out how secure they are.
A political conspiracy, complete with dead witnesses.
We need a live witness.
If there's any left.
Doubt you're here for my darts.
Nope.
But I am winning.
Yeah, Charlie, we need your help finding witnesses these guys haven't gotten to yet.
I'll certainly try -- using organizational theory.
Because every organization can be analyzed mathematically.
And in this case, there's the extra added parameter of secrecy.
So you could mathematically analyze the JFK assassination?
CHARLIE: Oh, sure.
Look, JFK conspiracy theories require the cooperation of the CIA, the FBI.
That number of people involved, mathematically, makes keeping the secret impractical.
OSWALD: Yeah, which is why we all know about it.
But can your analysis help us find the role of any remaining witnesses?
Here's what I'm gonna do for you.
I'm gonna look at the employees at Brasher's campaign, as well as at Tuttle's firm, and match them against who you'd need to pull off an election fraud.
I guess the FBI could do that.
I can do it faster.
Election irregularities? I thought that got looked into.
The county conducted an audit of the election, am I right?
Well, there you go.
MEEKS: Superintendent Brasher, what was your connection to J. Everett Tuttle?
Everett is my good friend.
We go way back.
He is the one that talked me into running for public office.
Everybody else said no way, impossible, can't win.
They sure look like idiots now.
Sir, do you know this woman?
Nope. No, never seen her.
Cute girl.
She worked for your campaign.
She was m*rder*d.
Uh...
I... I don't even know what her job was; never met the woman.
What's this about?
Are you saying that there's some connection between this woman's death and my campaign?
Was there?
What the hell...?
No... This can't be happening to me.
I will talk to you after I've gotten a lawyer.
But before I do, I'm gonna make some phone calls and find out what the hell you people think you're doing.
Wonder how much Tuttle's told this guy.
My guess... nothing.
I know Tuttle's our guy, but I still don't know how he did it.
And we don't have any evidence I can put in front of a judge.
It's like prosecuting the Mafia -- everybody knows something's going on, but nobody will talk about it.
We just need some time, you know?
I mean, how about you pressuring him on Brasher?
They might lay low, give us time to find some witnesses.
Worth a try.
My company has met or surpassed every security requirement.
Our machines create a paper trail that can be audited.
They're actually more secure and easier to use than any paper ballot system.
How's the software actually protected?
All machines are kept in a guarded facility until an election.
Access to the unit's hard drive is locked.
But poll workers can open it.
Even if one machine was hacked, they don't link up.
And there's no way to dial into them.
Mr. Dockins, you're confident that these machines performed as intended during the recent election cycle?
What if I told you the results were fraudulent?
Whatever the problem was, it wasn't in these machines.
CHARLIE: So I've identified two job profiles necessary to the conspiracy that don't match the dead people.
Uh, what are we looking for?
Okay, one would be a demographer specializing in statistical analysis of L.A. elections.
Someone well experienced with precinct data.
And the other one? A computer programmer someone exceptionally innovative and smart.
Probably makes a lot of money and consults extensively.
You have no evidence of any wrongdoing on my client's part.
MEEKS: Mr. Tuttle is at the center of an intensive federal investigation.
I've been investigated dozens of times.
Resulting in no convictions.
We ain't talking about stock fraud here, guys.
We'll look at your businesses, your contacts, your political involvement, particularly the Brasher campaign.
And we're going to get into everything, you understand what I'm saying?
Hmm.
I own two dozen companies, with numerous subsidiaries, I serve on 15 boards of directors and I employ four major law firms.
Even a cursory investigation of my holdings is going to put quite a strain on the FBI's limited resources.
But... good luck, fellas.
Oh, yeah, he's scared.
So, you found some people that fit the profiles we came up with?
DAVID: Actually, Megan found two.
Austin Parker and Jane Aliano.
He was the head researcher on Brasher's campaign.
And she did software security work on one of Tuttle's stock management firms.
Yeah, the kicker is they're both missing.
Why am I not surprised?
Rachel Lawton's phone records show that she called both of them day before she was m*rder*d.
She must have tried to warn them.
Yeah, now Parker's still alive.
We got four hits on his credit card in the last two days.
So, assuming he's moving around, hiding out.
OSWALD: When I tried that... you guys found me.
DAVID: Yeah, he left his car at home.
Could have borrowed one, might be living in it.
If he'd rented, we'd have found a record of that by now.
Yeah. All right, we'll try to figure out what he's using for a car.
I'll chart some rough ideas on where they might be, based on those four credit card hits.
Using the theory that he's, uh, avoiding his usual hangouts.
So...
I'm assuming that she's our computer scientist.
That's right. She told her sister she was heading out of town, expected back on Monday, but we haven't heard anything, there's been no calls, no activity on the credit cards, so, she might be dead.
OSWALD: Now, forgive me for stating the obvious, but, uh... it seems Austin Parker is your last hope.
Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing? What are you doing?
What's going on? What's going on?
It's all right. We're FBI.
We're here to protect you, okay?
Hold on! Hold on!
We know that Rachel Lawton called you.
She told you what's going on.
We also know that this is about the Brasher election.
Whatever life I have left has become about the Brasher election.
What was your involvement?
I was asked to make up a list of precincts where the vote would be closest.
And that's what I did. Is that unusual?
Winning precincts doesn't count.
All that matters is the overall vote total.
But guess what?
Brasher won all the precincts on your list.
Somebody used my list to decide where to hack the vote.
They figured it'd look less suspicious if they did it in precincts where the votes were closer. Yep.
There was a mandatory audit, due to the use of electronic voting machines.
Now the auditor's dead.
Mr. Parker, we'd like you to come with us, okay?
We need you to make a statement.
Wait, wait. You can't make a case yet.
Until you can, I'm not cooperating.
We have witness protection.
These people rigged an election, I think they can hack witness protection.
Get some indictments, then maybe I'll testify.
All right. Who do you think is behind this?
Brasher's an idiot.
But his old friend Tuttle -- he had a hand in everything.
Okay, gentlemen, that's what I know.
Now get out of my car.
Now, Mr. Parker, you're gonna be safer if you come with us.
None of us is safe. Get out.
We'll find you again.
If I'm around to find. Get out.
We need unmarked units for surveillance on a vehicle license 4-D-Q-S...
You okay? Yeah.
I didn't think I'd be this close to a car b*mb again after Afghanistan, but, yeah, I'm fine.
Could have been detonated remotely.
Might have been a timer.
Could have been any one of about half a dozen different fusing techniques.
MEGAN: Well that's a change in tactics.
I mean, this is an obvious m*rder.
It's not a staged accident anymore.
We confronted Tuttle and he put it right back in our faces.
So it's gonna come down to Jane Aliano.
Agent Reeves, the Director's Office is on line two.
I'll call him back.
Okay.
What, you're ducking calls from the Director?
Only when I have to tell him something he doesn't want to hear.
I'll take the Aliano interview.
All right.
I take care of Pico, Jane's dog, when she's out of town.
Do you know what's happened to my sister?
No. But we're trying to locate her.
She does a lot of consulting -- travels all the time -- but she's never just not shown up like this.
Is there any possibility she might have spoken to another family member or a friend?
No. No, not that I've heard.
And that's what's really scaring me.
She's never gone this long without calling Mom and Dad.
And how was she the last time that you spoke to her?
Distracted.
But, but that's Jane -- one of those brilliant people always processing four things at once.
(laughs) I know the type.
She wanted to be sure I'd have time for Pico.
Feed him, take him for a walk in his favorite park.
I told her of course. I know how much he means to her.
She even made him a Christmas stocking.
This dog is like a child to her.
(whines)
FBI. Jane, it's okay.
We're the good guys. We have her.
DISPATCH: Roger that, Agent Sinclair.
I got a call from Rachel Lawton, and what she said scared me.
But even before that, I knew something was hinky about the whole thing.
What you know could really help us, Jane.
Yeah, but then what happens to me?
Look, if we were able to find you, it would've only been a matter of time until they did, too.
But we will protect you every step of the way.
And we need a witness who's willing to take them down.
I'm... I'm just so damn scared.
I know you are.
But you're angry, too.
They picked the wrong computer geek to mess with.
DON: Come on, there just, there can't be that many possibilities.
In general, no, it's power/control, power/wealth.
Well, it all comes back to money, doesn't it?
People get money to get power, or power to get money.
There are fanatical idealists, you know.
He sh**t, he scores!
Oh, Oswald Kittner.
Mercy rule?
It's got to be a Canadian hockey table.
If they can rig a local election, why not a larger one?
Uh, because the bigger election, the bigger the conspiracy.
If it's too big, it can't sustain secrecy, you know?
It's like Watergate. It's like Iran-Contra or something.
Unless there's a self-perpetuating element involved like, uh... nano technology.
Okay, you know when you stack up champagne glasses and fill them with champagne?
You only pour the champagne into the top glass and then it overflows to the others.
Requires resources applied in one location, then it spreads.
Oh, good God, another one? (chuckles)
What he means is, is that the conspiracy starts at a single source but can then spread.
ALAN: That's right, because the supervisors oversee the county budget.
I mean, they oversee everything the county buys, which includes... voting equipment.
Brasher could definitely make sure the county only buys their machines.
Yeah, and with L.A. County's huge population, rigged voting machines here could make the difference in a statewide election.
You know what they say -- as California goes, so goes the country.
This Tuttle... wants to be a kingmaker.
Hey.
Megan just got a report from Tru-Poll Systems.
That's the company that makes the electronic voting machines.
Uh-huh, and?
Tru-Poll just updated all the motherboards on their machines in California.
Now, the motherboards are made in Taiwan by a company based here in the States: SDKG Electronics.
And the really interesting part about SDKG -- it was founded by this entrepreneur named Paul Prescott two years ago.
Tuttle approached him about buying out his company and Prescott says no.
Prescott d*ed in a rock-climbing accident.
Really?
It happens to a lot of people that get in Tuttle's way.
Who owns that firm? A holding company that Tuttle sold one year ago.
COLBY: Well, Aliano was hired to design a stock analysis program, but she was told that it should also be able to alter prices.
Right.
Now, she didn't really see the point, but Tuttle was paying her well, so...
So, what, it changes votes?
Apparently, to a computer, votes and stocks are the same thing.
They're just a bunch of number...
If he's going after Jane Aliano, that's a problem.
Yeah, for us and for him.
Aliano studied at UCSD. They say she's brilliant.
Supposedly, she told the FBI that "they picked the wrong computer geek to mess with."
Not the most threatening statement I've ever heard.
Her code must be hidden in the machine's legitimate coding, probably in the operating system.
Oh, well, here.
That's easy. Tell you what you do.
You need to look for the computer code that looks like Jane's.
This all looks exactly the same.
Well, all I have to do then is write an algorithm to isolate her code from the rest.
Hey, do me a favor.
Go find Dr. Finch.
Tell her we need a priority run on the supercomputer, and, you know, be convincing.
I'll tell her the fate of democracy is at stake.
I like that.
Jane's code is embedded in the operating system on the motherboard of the Tru-Poll machines.
And you can prove that?
Mathematically incontrovertible.
Well, how do the rigged machines pass all the testing they go through?
Ah. Why don't you think of, of voting on a voting machine as a man reading instructions to assemble a model car, but you want the man to build something different than this car.
The easiest way is to rewrite these directions.
These re-written instructions then become evidence of tampering.
However, if you can alter the operating system, the way the man interprets the correct instructions, step one becomes step five, four wheels become two, and red becomes green.
See, the voting machine makes illegal alterations, but only within the operating system, so there's no evidence.
Mess with the operating system, you can make that machine do anything.
Right, well, Jane Aliano can testify to this unless Tuttle gets to her first.
Yeah, we'd better get her someplace safe, okay, guys?
FBI! Get down!
Get down!
Down on the ground! Put the g*n on the ground!
Drop the g*n! Drop the g*n!
(engine roaring)
(tires screeching)
Drop the g*n.
Hands behind your back.
Mr. Dawkins, we just arrested three men trying to assassinate Jane Aliano.
They're Tru-Poll Security on your company payroll.
Yeah, we also cracked your coding.
You conspired with J. Everett Tuttle to tamper with the voting machines and fix the election.
As well as k*lling six people.
You will cooperate with the investigation or you're going to face the death penalty.
Maybe you don't quite understand what you're up against here.
No...
I do know.
I know exactly what I'm up against.
I intend to fully cooperate.
You'll give us Tuttle?
No.
Tuttle wasn't part of this.
This was my plan.
My people. My machines.
Tuttle had absolutely nothing to do with any of it.
He won't change his story.
Yeah, his g*ons all back him.
They took orders directly from him, never even heard of Tuttle.
Yeah, but I say Tuttle's got something on him.
Whatever it is, it's scarier than multiple m*rder charges.
He's smart.
Played it perfect.
If Tuttle kills Jane Aliano, we got no case... or this guy takes the fall.
Agent Eppes.
You know, I may be retired, but I still have appointments to keep.
Election fraud, conspiracy and m*rder.
(laughs)
You're constrained by limited funds and inadequate manpower, and you've got a suspect who's made a full confession.
He's lying and I'm gonna prove it.
You're going to spend bureau resources pursuing a case that's already been solved?
And your superiors are going to call that selective prosecution.
You know that.
And especially when the congressmen start calling and complaining about you, which they will.
You're just one man.
Just like you, pal.
Don. Hey.
The Times has the story.
The Brasher campaign, Tru-Poll, Tuttle, all of it.
The governor wants an investigation; there's demand for a special grand jury.
How'd they even get it?
That's what I'm wondering.
Well, it wasn't me.
DON: I can't talk to the press about an open investigation, and I wouldn't, I mean, not without proof.
Well, who... who do you think gave the story to the press?
Uh... they might have seen an advance copy of an article set to run in the Journal of Political Science.
Really, Charlie, you did this?
What I did was I submitted an article detailing my recent research.
Charlie, you can get into a lot of trouble.
Yeah, it's possible, but it's unlikely because, look, I-I used information that's in the public record.
And the organizational theory I performed linking Tuttle's firm to Brasher's campaign to Tru-Poll, th-that's all mathematically solid.
The Journal leaked it? Yeah.
They sent out a summary to the general press.
It's extremely difficult to prevent a scientist from publishing his research.
Academic freedom is big in this country.
Yeah, apparently so.
Yeah, so Tuttle wasted his time.
He wasted all that money trying to devise his little scheme.
It was all useless...
...because now the voting officials will know what to look for.
(doorbell rings)
You did good, Chuck.
But Tuttle's still not in jail.
Hey, I'm not done with him yet, don't you worry.
(door opens)
What's up?
Hello, Don, Mr. Eppes.
Hi. Oswald.
Hey, did you see the news?
Yeah, it's pretty wild.
It's on CNN and stuff.
I got to tell you, man, this is like nothing I've ever felt before.
I, it's really big, you know?
Yeah, it was, it was, it was important work.
Was, was that your plan, to show me the powers of math in fighting evil?
Because it, it worked. You got me.
I'm applying to CalSci.
Dude, that's, that's awesome.
You're right, another one.
Well, we can always use one more.
Are you kidding? They're taking over here.
You're right.
(phone ringing)
Reeves.
Yes, sir.
I... I have given it a lot of thought actually, and I don't think I can do it.
I understand, but...
So I don't actually have a choice in the matter?
Yes, sir.
♪ I don't remember much, if anything ♪
♪ Of those years, kinda strange ♪
♪ Kinda sad, considering ♪
♪ All the laughs and all ♪
♪ The tears. ♪