WRITTEN BY
Chris Carter
&
Vince Gilligan
&
John Shiban
&
Frank Spotnitz
DIRECTED BY
Rob Bowman
AIRED ON
March 4, 2001
RUNTIME
43 minutes
STARRING
VIEWS
348
LAST UPDATE
2024-09-22 02:45:58
PAGE VERSION
Version 6
LIKES
0
DISLIKES
0
SUMMARY
The Lone Gunmen—Byers, Langly, and Frohike—find themselves entangled in a high-stakes conspiracy when they uncover a plot to crash a plane into the White House as part of a scheme to increase defense spending. With the help of their old friend, FBI Agent Dana Scully, they race against time to thwart the plot and expose the hidden agenda behind the attack.
STORY
No story yet.
BEHIND THE SCENES
- The character of Jim Fyfe, Jimmy Belmont, died in the X-Files episode Three of a kind, but the Gilnitz (John Shiban, Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz) wanted Jim Fyfe on the show, so they created the character of Kimmy, Jimmy's brother.
- 9/11 happened 6 months after the Pilot was broadcast.
PHOTOS
1 photo
QUOTES
FILMING LOCATIONS
TOPICS
No topics yet.
REVIEWS
The spin-off that didn't make any sense
Written by
Pike on 2018-02-15
★
★
When Chris Carter wrote the pilot from The X-Files, his wish was to push the boundaries of the current television landscape. Here, Chris Carter does exactly the opposite. The Lone Gunmen is a series that tries to be like so many other TV series. Average. Uninspiring. Plain boring.
Instead of focusing all of his attention on The X-Files, which quality was already fading for quite some time, Carter spreads himself even thinner with this spin-off that no one wanted.
I give it 2 out of 5. The best of this awful and short-lived uninspiring series.
___________________________________________
An interesting start.
Written by
Vivi on 2018-04-19
★
★
★
This first episode is pretty good thanks to the 3 main characters and the actors. The story is amazing because the writers have seen the future and it shows their talent. This is sad that some dialogues are not good and don't work.
___________________________________________
Average tv pilot
Written by
Pike on 2018-06-02
★
★
★
★
The Lone Gunmen is a spin off from The X-Files series. Frohike, Byers and Langley are three characters that appeared in the first season of The X-Files, in the episode "E.B.E.". While The X-Files was very serious at the time, the appearance of The Lone Gunmen characters was the first time the series went into the geek and fun storyline. I was never a fan of it at the time, as I much prefer the classic and serious X-Files than the self-aware one.
SPINF OFF ARE BAD, ALWAYS
Up until today, I have yet to see a good spin off. Creating a successful and interesting series is so damn difficult, than trying to create another great one based on it is virtually impossible.
The Lone Gunmen is no exception.
AVERAGE
The word that comes to mind is average. From the first moment of the pilot episode from The X-Files, the producers tried to go as far as possible from the typical average tv series frameworks. As an example, the actress was not the typical sexy bimbo. Instead of owning the fact that the three lead characters of The Lone Gunmen are not Hollywood sexy males, they had to add sexy characters, such as Eve. It makes no sense to add her into the loop.
BAD ACTING
It is by watching this episode that I discovered that Dean Haglund, the actor playing Langley, is actually a very, very bad actor. Every time he blabs a line, I simply did not believe it.
MUSIC
The music from Mark Snow is fun. Some parts are interesting, especially the electric guitare moments. But it ends there. The worst thing is by far the regular sound cues, as if we needed those. This feels cheap, lame and overall pointless. This diminishes the already low quality of the show.
DIALOGUE
Many times throughout the episode, the dialogue feels odd. It simply doesn't work. There is no real energy.
TRIO
Also, the episode shows that it is extremely difficult to build a story with three equal characters. Lots of shots feel badly staged.
9/11
But there is one thing that is extremely interesting in this episode. The Simpsons may have predicted Trump becoming President, but The Lone Gunmen showed a story about a commercial plane (almost) hitting the World Trade Center from New York only six months and seven days before the horrific terrorist attack from 9/11/2001.
SUMMARY
An average pilot using too many tv clichés. I give it 4 out of 10.
TRANSCRIPT
SCENE 1
ECOMCON COMPUTER CORP
VIENNA VIRGINIA
Its evening People are getting out of cars and walking into a modern twostorey building
Camera pans up and over to roof We see two figures running along a flat part of the roof Its BYERS and FROHIKE They stop and lift off the cover of a ventilation duct
Cut to security monitors showing people standing and walking in a large hall Pan back to show security guards at the monitors as more people walk into the hall
WOMAN VO Ladies and gentlemen Ladies and gentlemen thank you
Cut to the WOMAN speaking to the crowd
WOMAN On behalf of our 14000 employees I am pleased to say Welcome to EComCon The most technically advanced yet socially conscious company on the Fortune 500
VOICE OFF Yeah Right
People start looking round to see who it is
WOMAN In this stateoftheart research and development centre we are taking the next step in computer processor evolution and were creating a new age of innovation and customer service
We see a large plasma screen in the background showing a revolving animation of the processor
VOICE OFF But a new age of invading your customers privacy
People looking round again for the mystery person
WOMAN Sir are you sure youre on the right tour
LANGLY Yeah He puts an empty glass on a waiters tray Why dont you tell us about that Octium IV chip youre developing Hes picked up a kebab from the waiters tray
WOMAN Well ah The um Octium IV is our latest high speed processor Its capable of 68 gigaflops thats nearly 7 billion calculations per second
Camera has switched to LANGLY while shes speaking
LANGLY I mean tell us the truth How the Octium is secretly designed to keep tabs on the users
Cut to a laptop Pan up to FROHIKE suspended in a harness BYERS is operating the laptop Think Mission Impossible I
FROHIKE Patriot One to Patriot Two Were in position
Cut to LANGLY
LANGLY Its got a tiny little modem embedded in each processor see So they can upload your files onto the internet and your credit history and your tax bracket and your social security number All neatly packaged for these robber barons
WOMAN Sir I dont know that this is the proper forum
LANGLY And another thing
FROHIKE In LANGLYs ear Patriot Two
LANGLY stops talking
FROHIKE Patriot Two In position Shut up already
Camera focusses on device in LANGLYs ear Camera pulls back and LANGLY looks at the kebab
LANGLY Uh Is there peanuts in this
LANGLY faints very quickly People crowd around him Security guards rush into the hall and away from the monitors
Camera pans to monitors and focusses on one where we see FROHIKE being lowered in the harness from the ceiling of a room which is mostly empty except for table in the middle
Cut to a view in the room upwards watching FROHIKE descend
FROHIKE Oh yeah Whos your Daddy
Camera focuses on the Octium chip on the desk
Cut to hall where firstaid attempts are being made on the convulsing LANGLY
MAN We have a man having a severe allergic reaction here over
Cut to security monitors showing FROHIKE Pan up to someone watching the monitors glasses short hair beard
Camera alternates between FROHIKE and BYERS
Just as FROHIKE lifts out the chip an alert comes up on BYERS laptop
NETWORK LOGIN REMOTE USER LOGGED ON
Other alerts appear
ALERT DELETING PREFS
winch_controlprg
ALERT LOADING NEW PREFS
winch_controlprg
BYERS Um Frohike Hang on tight
FROHIKE What
The winch starts to haul FROHIKE upward Hew spins over backwards in his harness
FROHIKE Byers
BYERS I dont have winch control Our softwares been hijacked
FROHIKE descends again
LANGLY still on the floor convulsing jerks his had back and camera cuts to his upsidedown view of the bearded person by the security monitors
LANGLY spits out the pen and starts to sit up
MAN Take it easy Helps on the way
One of the other men sees and removes the listening device from LANGLYs ear
MAN What the hell is this
Cut to outside the room FROHIKE is in We see through the glass doors as FROHIKE is winched up again and then down again We see from FROHIKEs upsidedown view a person approaching the doors As the person walks in an alarm starts sounding Again from FROHIKEs upsidedown view we see the person the same bearded person as before
Cut to FROHIKE still upsidedown The bearded person moves in and gives FROHIKE a fullonthelips kiss
Cut to BYERS looking puzzled
Cut back to the liplock The bearded person pulls away
FROHIKE You
The bearded person takes the Octium chip
The bearded person pushes FROHIKE so he flips over and over in the harness then leaves and walks down the corridor Security men and LANGLY appear from a side corridor walking towards the room FROHIKE is in
LANGLY Youre making a big mistake That was a hearing aid
The bearded person goes into the Mens Restroom
Cut back to FROHIKE still suspended as the security men and LANGLY enter One man goes over to the table sees the chip is gone
MAN to FROHIKE Wheres the chip
FROHIKE just looks miserable The man looks up and sees BYERS
MAN Looking at FROHIKE Full body cavity search
FROHIKE looks more miserable Then the winch drops him onto the floor
The door to the Mens Restroom opens and out walks a very attractive young woman with long black hair and wearing a skimpy figurehugging black dress She looks over at the security men dragging LANGLY out of the room
LANGLY Honest to god we dont have it
The woman walks off pauses at a litter bin and deposits what looks like a false beard and wig in it She walks off along the corridor
OPENING CREDITS
THE PILOT EPISODE DID NOT HAVE OPENING CREDITS
SCENE 2
OFFICES OF THE LONE GUNMAN
TAKOMA PARK MARYLAND
View of a security monitor recording LANGLY and BYERS walking down steps to their office door
Camera pans to inside of door There is much unlocking of locks The door opens and LANGLY BYERS and FROHIKE enter
LANGLY what we wont do for the constitution
FROHIKE Yeah like having a role of tape shoved up our kazoos least it feels like that
LANGLY locks the door behind them
LANGLY Were not gonna let this injustice stand Were gonna stop these corporate goons from doing to the American people what they did to us last night
BYERS Yeah right
FROHIKE Whats the matter Byers
BYERS The matter is that we dont have the proof Without proof were nothing more than conspiracy nutters Without proof all we can do is cry wolf
LANGLY Dont take it personally man They strip searched all of us
During this conversation FROHIKE is wandering around searching for something
BYERS Eleven years weve been putting out this paper Think about it Have we really made a difference Is America a better place to live because of our efforts This story would have garnered national attention It would have forced EComCon to halt the production of the Octium chip it would have protected the civil liberties of millions of Americans But without proof
LANGLY Well we could still speculate cant we Well call it editorial commentary
BYERS For whom Last weeks issue had a circulation of two thousand eight hundred and twentyfour Were preaching to the converted
LANGLY The readership doesnt matter man its the impact on the black ops that counts They read it too the guys at the NSA and the CIA They tremble every time we put out one of these babies
LANGLY is holding up a copy of The Lone Gunman headline TELETUBBIES MINDCONTROL
BYERS You think the people at EComCon trembling
FROHIKE They will if we get that chip back
BYERS Like thats gonna happen
LANGLY EComCons already got the Justice Department searching for the dude that snaked it from us
FROHIKE Only theyre looking for a he
BYERS Are you sure that man with the beard was Yves Adele Harlow
FROHIKE Trust me No guy kisses like that Pause I mean er
LANGLY I hear Harlows a black hat Real heavy lifter Industrial espionage strictly for profit
BYERS Shes probably already sold the chip to the highest bidder the Malaysians or the Japanese
LANGLY It sucks We stole it
Looks over at FROHIKE who is still searching
LANGLY What the hell you doing
FROHIKE Our operation was piggybacked Theres only one way Harlow could know our plans
BYERS You believe she breached our security
FROHIKE points a device at a shelf and it emits a squeal sound LANGLY goes over and FROHIKE picks up and shows BYERS a small listening device LANGLY snatches and shouts into it
LANGLY Testing One two three you bitch
He throws it into a glass of liquid
LANGLY Thats twice today Ive been violated Thats it man Total war Salt the earth
An old telephone rings BYERS goes over and picks it up
BYERS Lone Gunman Newspaper Group Byers speaking
Camera pans in closer to BYERS face
BYERS Yes Im his son
SCENE 3
Day Cemetery A group of people are standing around a grave in the distance A man RAY HELM is eulogising on BYERS father
HELM Bertram R Byers The R stood for Roosevelt Which is a name fit for a true believer if ever I heard one A true believer that was Bert Thirtyodd years that I was lucky enough to call him a friend He never lost his faith in the government a mighty power to do good His muscular Christianity
The camera pans and we see FROHIKE and LANGLY in the congregation standing with BYERS
FROHIKE an aside to LANGLY Theres enough brass here to make a spittoon
HELM As a civilian employee of the Air Force Bert jokingly described himself as a plodding Bureaucrat But he never lost his love for aerospace his chosen profession his true love
His voice fades as the camera pans over LANGLY and FROHIKE Somebody standing on the edge of the group catches LANGLYs attention Hes sure it is the bearded individual from the ECom Con event
HELM Which is why today in accordance with his wishes we commend his ashes to that bold frontier that he loved so well
Pan to BYERS
HELM Godspeed Bert
The Priest makes his way over to BYERS
PRIEST Would you do the honours
The Priest hands BYERS a small black box BYERS sighs
BYERS Five
The mourners start moving away revealing a small rocket maybe 2 feet high
BYERS four three two one
The mourners are standing well back now away from the rocket
BYERS Ignition
He presses the button The rocket fires and takes off BYERS watches it ascend At the top of its trajectory it explodes with a soft sound
Later LANGLY and FROHIKE are walking through the cemetery
LANGLY So you never met him
FROHIKE Byers and his old man havent spoken since 1989
LANGLY The year we started publishing
FROHIKE The year Byers threw away a government pension to hang out with a couple of lowlife hippie scums At least so his old man thought
LANGLY is looking over FROHIKEs head at something ahead of him
LANGLY FROHIKE 12 oclock
FROHIKE Checking his watch What
LANGLY One spying chipstealing little crossdresser
LANGLY runs up to a someone sporting a short beard walking away from the service He grabs him turns him around and tries to pull the beard off
BEARDED MAN Owww
LANGLY Oh
BEARDED MAN What are you doing
LANGLY You got touching his own face soup
The man walks off turning back to look quizzically at LANGLY
LANGLY sighs and walks back to FROHIKE
FROHIKE Next time leave the crack pipe at home
BYERS joins them
FROHIKE Hey buddy Nice service Looks like your old man had a lot of friends in high places
LANGLY Yeah Maybe we could plant bugs on a couple of them
FROHIKE looks at LANGLY
LANGLY Or maybe nows not the time
BYERS Im about ready to get out of here
RAY HELM walks over towards BYERS
HELM John We met once years ago
BYERS and the man shake hands
HELM Im Ray Helm I worked with your father
BYERS Mr Helm Your eulogy was very nice Thank you
HELM I meant every word of it I was hoping you and I could about him I realised you hadnt seen each other in some time
BYERS Im just not sure what there is to talk about
HELM We could talk about how he died
BYERS According to the police his car ran off the road
HELM Like I said we could talk about that
Behind BYERS FROHIKE and LANGLY exchange a look
SCENE 4
RESTON VIRGINIA
The LONE GUNMEN and RAY HELM are standing under a very long road bridge in the middle of a wide open area
HELM It happened here The police ruled it a single car accident There were no witnesses to it but based on the lack of skid marks HELM pauses Their explanation was that your father fell asleep at the wheel and ran off the road
LANGLY But you dont believe that
BYERS Youre not pause saying my father killed himself
HELM Im saying he was murdered
Cut to inside a car at night We see hands on the driving wheel Camera pans over to show the drivers face A man probably in his sixties
HELM VO I dont know where Bert was headed I dont know that it mattered Just so he was driving along a lonely stretch of road A perfect place for an ambush
We see through the back window the headlights of another car approaching That car draws level and the driver fires a gun Within the car we see the drivers window shatter
Cut to outside the car It goes off the road hits the bridge support and bursts into flames
Cut back to BYERS
BYERS What proof do you have
HELM Absolutely none
FROHIKE and LANGLY exchange glances
HELM Which is exactly the way these people manage things People your father and I worked for
BYERS Government
Helm nods BYERS by now is clearly upset
BYERS Why Why my father He was a company man
HELM He was a good man He had a conscience Sometimes thats a problem in our line of work
BYERS Meaning what
HELM Last time I spoke to him he was upset about something hed found out He wouldnt tell me what
FROHIKE comes up
FROHIKE Hold up Somethings somethings funky here Youre telling us the government is behind this
LANGLY To HELM Youre the government
HELM If youre anything like your father I knew youd want to know
SCENE 5
BERTRAM BYERS RESIDENCE
Night The Lone Gunmens VW drives up Inside the residence is in a good decor lots of wood and blinds BYERS is looking at a document
FROHIKE Hey Byers You sure you really want to do this
LANGLY Besides that government guy said there wouldnt be any proof your Dad was murdered
BYERS slowly walks over to a table and picks up a framed photograph
BYERS If he was murdered thered have to be a reason for it Mr Helm said maybe he knew something
BYERS is upset but then rallies
BYERS I want to see whats on his PC
He walks off and LANGLY and FROHIKE follow FROHIKE slips on the spot falling towards the carpet
FROHIKE Whoa
He falls on his back with a loud thump
FROHIKE Son of a bitch
He sits up and then looks at his fingers
FROHIKE Hey this carpets wet Like its been cleaned
BYERS To FROHIKE Check it out
LANGLY is sitting at the computer We see the lines of text on the monitor
LANGLY Well the good news is theres no annoying passwords to crack
BYERS Well whats the bad news
LANGLY Theres no nothing else either only an operating system Someone cleaned house Erased everything and defragged this puppy
BYERS Try a sector editor See if you can find any recently deleted files
LANGLY BINGO Delete commands up the wazoo
The monitor is now showing a screen showing a hexadecimal and text contents of a file deleted from the disk
BYERS Hey wait what about this one
BYERS points to some text on the screen
LANGLY Looks like a DOD file Scenario 12D
The screen shows a partial filename oadgov_docsscenario_12D
LANGLY Text file
Cut to FROHIKE back in the lounge in the dark Hes dressed in white coveralls and is inching his way across the carpet on his knees waving a ultraviolet light wand over the carpet which he is spraying with a liquid as he goes Suddenly the light picks up an area of carpet which glows faintly green
FROHIKE What the
He sprays it with the liquid and the glow intensifies
FROHIKE Hey Byers Langly
BYERS and LANGLY hear his shouts
FROHIKE Come look at this
BYERS and LANGLY enter the lounge FROHIKE hands the light wand to BYERS
FROHIKE Take a look at this
BYERS waves the light wand over the area of carpet
FROHIKE Thats blood And a lot of it
BYERS is looking down at the carpet in disbelief
LANGLY I thought your old man died in a car crash
BYERS Theorising My father was dead long before the crash
He exchanges a look with FROHIKE and LANGLY
BYERS He was murdered here
Fade to black
SCENE 6
ABC SALVAGE
RESTON VIRGINIA
A red VW Beetle is being crushed in a breakers yard
YARD WORKER BYERS Bertram Blue 92 Caprice
The Yard Worker is walking while looking at papers on a clipboard BYERS and FROHIKE are following him
YARD WORKER Yeah We got it
FROHIKE I dont get it Youre saying somebody popped your father in his living room then loaded him into his car then faked a car crash two miles away Now thats a hell of a trick A dead man driving a car
BYERS They managed it somehow Theres got to be evidence in the car that the fire didnt destroy
YARD WORKER Youre Bertram Byers
BYERS Uh Yeah
YARD WORKER Date of birth January 1934
BYERS looks at FROHIKE FROHIKE looks at the Yard Worker
FROHIKE Viagra
YARD WORKER Its over yonder
BYERS and FROHIKE look over and see a machine about to lift a car into the crusher
FROHIKE Worried That yonder
They run frantically towards the machine shouting Hey Wait Stop Shut it down
As they run FROHIKE slips and falls face down into the mud
BYERS Shut it down
FROHIKE picks himself up Hes covered in mud from head to foot
FROHIKE Stop
They stare resignedly as the machine lowers the car into the crusher
YARD WORKER Hey Your cars over here
FROHIKE and BYERS turn around
YARD WORKER This yonder This ones your Caprice
The camera pans over a barely recognisable blue car Its been crushed into a steel cube
YARD WORKER Hope you didnt leave nothing in the glove box
SCENE 7
A corridor in a building Men come out of open doors into the corridor pointing guns A hand appears in front of the camera holding a gun Shots are fired As each man in the corridor is hit he disappears Its a computer simulation
LANGLY complete with ear protection steps in front of the shooter
LANGLY Nice shooting Have you seen Kimmy
Shooter wearing camouflage points his gun at the ceiling and exasperated points to his left LANGLY walks off
As the camera pans across we see that it is a firing range with several shooters
KIMMY You want some You try my smorgasbord
The camera shows what Kimmy is looking at its a battle scene in woods with several warriors running forwards theyre carrying swords and shields Again they disappear when shot
LANGLY taps Kimmys shoulder Kimmy whirls round in surprise
KIMMY Hey Never touch a man with a gun in his hand
LANGLY Shooting Vikings now Thats not very sporting
KIMMY What do you want Langly Im locked and loaded here
LANGLY I need some help circumventing DoDs online security codes
KIMMY DOD What for
LANGLY says nothing
KIMMY Go put your daisy into somebody elses rifle hippie I gotta put some serious lead downrange
LANGLY Im talking about government sanctioned murder here
KIMMY What is this Another one of your whacko conspiracy theories Like who shot JR
LANGLY JFK
KIMMY Whatever My point being youre wasting your life man A hacker of your calibre ought to be floating in a Silicon Valley hot tub sipping champers and counting his IPO casho
Theres the sound of rapid gunfire and both men look in that direction
A woman dressed in black clothes with long hair is firing down the range using two guns
LANGLY Hey chihuahua whos that
KIMMY A fellow hacker Her names Yves Harlow
LANGLY goes over to the woman
LANGLY I liked you better with the beard
She smiles Kimmy has followed LANGLY
LANGLY Wheres our chip
YVES In an English accent Chip What chip
LANGLY That Octium IVs rightfully ours Give it the hell back
KIMMY You got an Octium IV
YVES And what did you three stooges plan to do with the chip Give it to 60 Minutes Expose the makes quote signs truth in your silly little rag
LANGLY The American people have the right to know
YVES If you pimply pencilnecks are the only hope for the American people god help us all
KIMMY Come on Langly Lets go do some real hacking
The two guys walk off Kimmy slaps LANGLY on his butt LANGLY glares at him Yves goes back to shooting
SCENE 8
Day A dimly lit workshop FROHIKE is working on the wrecked car BYERS is watching
BYERS Find anything
FROHIKE Yeah A new meaning for the term compact car Talk about a needle in a haystack If there is any evidence in this heap of junk were gonna be hard pressed to find it
BYERS Well find it
FROHIKE Uh And then what Then youll be happy
BYERS Im not sure I understand the question
FROHIKE Whats the best thing that could come out of this investigation as far as youre concerned You find out that your father was going to blow the whistle on the government You find out pause they killed him for it
BYERS walks over to FROHIKE
BYERS Whats your point
FROHIKE Come on Byers We both know that you and your father didnt see eye to eye Youre hoping youll find he was someone you could respect But what if he wasnt
BYERS is silent FROHIKE goes back to working on the car
BYERS My father used to talk about JFK when I was a kid Camelot a government as good as its people the American dream Sighs I dont know when or why he stopped believing in it but those stories made me who I am Made me believe in the promise of our country
FROHIKE Truth justice and the American Way
BYERS Someone has to expose those who would destroy that dream Someone has to write the stories they dont want you to read Thats why I teamed up with you guys Youre true believers
FROHIKE And I thought it was for the chick throwoff
BYERS smiles
FROHIKE Look All Im saying is I dont want you setting yourself up for a disappointment Im saying make peace with your father in another way
FROHIKE goes back to work on the car and pulls out a small metal object a circuit board
BYERS What is it
FROHIKE hands it over to BYERS
FROHIKE A needle in a haystack
SCENE 9
Office of The Lone Gunman A computer monitor is showing a Department of Defence web page Kimmy is at the keyboard
KIMMY Were in Piece of cake My old granny could hack this site
He yawns
KIMMY OK Where to next
LANGLY OK Products and logistics Nno Wait Wait Program analysis and evaluation Were looking for any reference to something called scenario12d
Kimmy taps away
FROHIKE Offscreen We got it
FROHIKE and BYERS walk between the shelving
FROHIKE The proverbial smoking gun
He sees Kimmy
FROHIKE Hey Kimmy Slumming
LANGLY Hes helping me hack into the DOD mainframe
KIMMY I only said yes to keep blondie from getting his nads clipped
LANGLY We ran into Yves Adele Harlow at the shooting range I didnt want to cause a scene You know your old man and all So what you got
BYERS We found this in the engine compartment of my fathers car
They look at the circuit board under a magnifying glass
BYERS None of the circuits have a manufacturers identifying numbers
LANGLY And this copper zigzag looks like an integrated antenna
BYERS Etched into the board like a cellphone Were thinking
FROHIKE If this receives radio signals and was clipped to the car engines control module
BYERS The speed of the car could be remotely controlled
FROHIKE All youd need is a handheld radio controller to operate the car
LANGLY And make it look like a dead man was driving
FROHIKE Yep
KIMMY Yes I am the king Numero uno baby Mmmm mmmm
The Gunmen walk over to Kimmy
BYERS Find something
KIMMY Yep I wound up in some government thinktanks upload directory Heres your scenarios ladies
BYERS Its in clear Counterterrorism scenarios War games developed for the Defence Department
FROHIKE Whats Scenario 12D
Kimmy clicks on the file A dialog box on the screen opens
FILE INFO
scenario_12Dtxt
Domestic Airline InFlight Terrorist Act
LANGLY Airline terrorism That doesnt make sense Your father was murdered over a war game
BYERS Download it
Kimmy taps away The screen shows
DOWNLOAD
RETRIEVING uploadsscenariosscenario_12Dtxt
Then an alert sounds and the screen shows
REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED
port1080 offending IP256127659
DrWeesh points out that this is an invalid IP address 8 bit IP numbers range from 0255
KIMMY Ixnay on the downloadday
BYERS What is it
KIMMY Its a bogey Weve been spotted
CUT TO
Another monitor elsewhere We realise we are the DOD monitoring the Lone Gunmens hack attempt
DOD OPERATOR Sir Weve got an intruder Im tracing
CUT BACK TO
KIMMY Theyre running some realtime intrusion detection Somebody knows were in We should ditch
BYERS Keep downloading
LANGLY These guys are murderers Byers Give it some thought man
CUT BACK TO
DOD surveillance monitor shows a trace homing in to the DC area on a map
DOD OPERATOR Ive isolated their bitstream DSL DC metro
CUT BACK TO
LANGLY Theyve compromised our cookie
Another alert sounds Kimmy pulls his hands away from the keyboard
BYERS Stay with it
KIMMY Theyre scanning our services
BYERS Were almost there Keep going
CUT TO
DOD OPERATOR On board Scanning for vitals
CUT BACK TO
KIMMY Im failing Theyre scanning our file system
BYERS We need that file
CUT TO
DOD OPERATOR Here we go Address data file
Screen shows a file being downloaded
Opening file
userdataini
CUT BACK TO
KIMMY Oh my god They found a data file Theyre gonna get our address
LANGLY Theyll be busting through our door
BYERS Keep downloading
Suddenly the monitor goes blank The system powers down BYERS looks round FROHIKE has pulled the plug
BYERS Frohike We almost had it
FROHIKE We almost got our asses fried
BYERS My father died for that file
FROHIKE Exactly Use your head
CUT TO
DOD OPERATOR Lost them Sorry sir
Camera pans to show the DOD Operators boss Its HELM
HELM I know who they are
Fade to black
SCENE 10
548 AM
Lone Gunman offices BYERS is sat looking at the circuit board
LANGLY What you say we call it a night Byers
FROHIKE Oh its too late for that the sun just came up Come on Byers Ill buy you a Grand Slam
BYERS It just doesnt make sense
LANGLY What doesnt make sense
BYERS The blood in my fathers house
FROHIKE Buddy weve been through this They shot him
BYERS Why Why go to the trouble of faking a car accident so perfectly so convincingly when youre starting with a body thats got a hole in it
LANGLY Maybe your dad put up a fight
BYERS Maybe it wasnt his blood
LANGLY gives him a sharp look
SCENE 11
The crash scene under the bridge The three walk over to the tracks in the ground from the cars tyres As they are examining these another car draws up and drives straight over the tracks The driver gets out its Helm
HELM You found something
FROHIKE holds up the circuit board
FROHIKE Proof
BYERS takes it from him
HELM Of what
BYERS My father wasnt murdered
LANGLY But not for lack of trying
HELM I dont understand Are you saying it was an accident
BYERS Were saying hes not dead
HELM looks shocked
BYERS It starts with a blood stain we found in my fathers house Weve had it tested the blood wasnt his
HELM Whose was it
BYERS His wouldbe assassin A professional sent to make his death look like an accident
Flashback to BYERS SNRs house A curtain is drawn back and a man holding a silenced gun enters the room
BYERS VO The carpet in the living room had been freshly shampooed
The assassin is creeping up behind BYERS SNR who is sat down
BYERS VO We assumed it was to get rid of the blood evidence
FROHIKE VO It was the second time
Still in flashback The assassin slowly approaches BYERS SNR who is watching television BYERS SNR is clearly enjoying what he is watching and the assassin approaches him from behind Suddenly the assassin slips and falls with a grunt to the ground There is a gunshot and a bright flash BYERS SNR is startled and looks behind him
CUT BACK TO
Under the bridge with THE LONE GUNMEN and HELM
HELM He shot himself
HELM seems somewhat unbelieving
HELM Some professional
LANGLY Hey Government contractor
Cut with flash effect to outside BYERS SNRs home BYERS SNR leaves the house
BYERS VO In the aftermath Dad realised he was in danger I imagine his first impulse was to run
Flashback BYERS SNR goes to his car As he gets in he discovers a device on the drivers seat He picks it up its a remote control with a joysticktype lever
BYERS VO But then he started to piece together the larger plan
Flashback BYERS SNR gets out of the car and raises the bonnet of the car Theres a circuit board with wires leading to various parts of the engine BYERS SNR clicks a button on the remote control and the headlights light up
BYERS VO He found the remote control that the assassin attached to his car
BYERS SNR moves the joystick and the car reverses
BYERS VO Someone was going to great lengths to fake his death in a car accident
BYERS SNR continues to operate the joystick and the car moves towards him
BYERS VO To murder him without arousing suspicion
BYERS SNR reaches up to close the bonnet
BYERS VO So he came up with his own plan
Cut with flash effect to a seat belt being engaged to strap in the dead assassin
BYERS VO Dad knew whoever would go to such lengths would only stop if he were dead
BYERS SNR gets out of the car
BYERS VO So he made it look as though he was
BYERS SNR operates the remote control and the car drives off fast hits the bridge support and burst into flames
CUT BACK TO
BYERS finishing his theory with HELM
HELM What reason did they have to kill your father What were they trying to hide
BYERS Something called Scenario 12D
HELM We have to find Bert He can tell us everything we need to know
LANGLY We dont know where he is Weve got to find what Scenario 12D is
FROHIKE Thats why we need your help As a government monkey man
LANGLY We need your password to get beyond password security What is it
HELM hesitates then decides
HELM Overlord
LANGLY Cool
HELM Whatever I can do to help
BYERS Good pauses Well catch up with you later
BYERS walks away
LANGLY Whys he so bummed His dads alive
FROHIKE Yeah But he may never see him again
SCENE 12
BYERS SNRs living room Its day but the curtains are drawn BYERS enters He goes over to a small bureau and pulls open a compartment He then notices several magazines on one shelf He pulls some out they are all Lone Gunman newsletters Headlines ATMs STEAL CASH SUPERMARKET BARCODES USED TO TRACK YOU While he is looking as these another man enters the room
BYERS SNR John
We see its BYERS SNR
BYERS Dad
BYERS goes over to his father He starts to smile His father then slaps him across his face
BYERS SNR What the hell are you doing Why cant you stay out of this Leave me buried
BYERS What is scenario 12D
BYERS SNR doesnt respond
BYERS We know its a war game scenario That it has to do with airline counterterrorism Why is it important enough to kill for
BYERS SNR Because its no longer a game
BYERS But if some terrorist group wants to act out this scenario then why target you for assassination
BYERS SNR Depends on who your terrorists are
BYERS The men who conceived of it the first place Youre saying our government is planning to commit a terrorist act against a domestic airline
BYERS SNR There you go again Blaming the entire government as usual In fact a small faction
BYERS For what possible gain
BYERS SNR The Cold Wars over John But with no clear enemy to stockpile against the arms markets flat But bring down a fully loaded 727 into the middle of New York City and youll find a dozen tinpot dictators all over the world just clamouring to take responsibility and begging to be smartbombed
BYERS I cant believe this This is about increasing arms sales
BYERS SNR nods
BYERS When
BYERS SNR Tonight
BYERS How are you going to stop them
BYERS SNR says nothing
BYERS Why didnt you tell the world about this go to the press
BYERS SNR You think Id still be drawing breath 30 minutes after I made that call The press whos going to run this story
BYERS We would
BYERS SNR This
He goes over to the pile of Lone Gunman newsletters and picks one up
BYERS SNR This is bird cage liner Wildeyed crap up there with Elvis is an Alien and twoheaded babies
BYERS You obviously read it
BYERS SNR Dont be so damned naive This isnt going to save the world He sighs Im doing what I can John I dont have all the specifics on scenario 12D but I think I know the flight theyve chosen You stay out of it I dont want Overlord gunning for you too
SCENE 13
The Lone Gunmen offices Someone is making a list of anagrams of Yves Adele Harlow Its FROHIKE The door opens and he looks up as does LANGLY and Helm who are sitting at the computer BYERS comes in
HELM Feeling better
LANGLY Were on the job here Byers I think were making some real headway
FROHIKE Hey buddy You OK
BYERS I just found my father
HELM Where
BYERS At his house Hes there now
FROHIKE What did he say
BYERS After he hit me He told me to stay away from him not to get involved
HELM Ive got to get over there
BYERS Mr Helm Be careful He doesnt trust you either He thinks you were somehow involved in the attempt on his life
HELM nods and leaves
FROHIKE What the hell are you doing
LANGLY What if hes involved What if he used us to get to your father
FROHIKE You might have ratted out on your dad
BYERS That was their plan Put the son in danger and you flush the father out of hiding We had a couple of portable hydrocarbonsniffers where are they
FROHIKE and LANGLY look at each other
FROHIKE What
BYERS starts looking around
FROHIKE Byers
Theres a knock on the door
BYERS Somebody get that
FROHIKE goes over to the security monitor Theres a man standing outside
BYERS Let him in before somebody sees him
FROHIKE opens the door Its BYERS SNR FROHIKE gestures him in
FROHIKE Hiya
BYERS SNR goes over to LANGLY and BYERS who is holding a couple of devices in his hands
LANGLY Congrats on not being dead
BYERS SNR Oh the day is young
FROHIKE BYERS you want to clue us in
BYERS looks at his father
BYERS Weve got a plane to catch
He hands his father one of the devices
SCENE 14
Airport terminal An tannoy is announcing departing flights A monitor is displaying flight details
Flight 265
Boston
Departs 650 PM
Gate 34
BYERS and his father walk across a crowded concourse towards departure gate 34 BYERS SNR hesitates BYERS walks back to him
BYERS Do you see anyone you recognise
BYERS SNR No But that doesnt mean theyre not around
BYERS OK Lets board and check the cabin for free hydrocarbons Try and pinpoint their bomb
BYERS SNR This is your plan I still think we should call in a bomb threat and let the FBI deal with this
BYERS You said yourself we dont know the full extent of this conspiracy we cant trust any government official Our only hope is to get on that plane
BYERS walks off to the departure gate his father follows him The camera pulls and we see a man using a public telephone
MAN Theyre boarding
CUT TO
HELM is talking on his mobile phone standing in BYERS SNR living room
HELM Thats two problems solved
Fade to black
SCENE 15
Night An aircraft is flying through the sky Ahead can be seen the many lights of a City
CUT TO
Inside the aircraft BYERS is using the hydrocarbon sniffer in what appears to be the galley He goes back into the passenger cabin and sits down next to his father
BYERS Find anything
BYERS SNR Well the luggage holds clear if this thing can be trusted What did you do make with your Erectorset
BYERS Are you absolutely sure this is the targeted flight
BYERS SNR This flight was chosen primarily for its visibility Its schedule to pass over Manhattan on its way to Boston
BYERS You said they intend to bring this down in the middle of New York City
BYERS SNR Shush
BYERS What if there is no bomb
BYERS SNR Well how they going to bring it down
BYERS The same way a dead man can drive a car
BYERS SNR looks astounded BYERS gets out of his seat
SCENE 16
The Lone Gunmen offices FROHIKE and LANGLY are both listening on the phone to BYERS calling from the plane
FROHIKE AND LANGLY What do you mean no bomb
BYERS VO Langly I need you to hack into the airlines onboard navigation system LANGLY rushes over to the computer We need to know where were headed
FROHIKE OK Going to headsets
FROHIKE Ill clone the airphones carrier Make them think were sending a groundtoair fax
LANGLY Thats one twisted star 69
FROHIKE Uh just get ready ride the wave hippie boy
LANGLY Just get me on that plane and Ill get you autopilot access
FROHIKE How are you going to do that
LANGLY Airline telemetry systems use processors similar to those found in CB radios
FROHIKE Im in Weve got ourselves a convoy
CUT TO
BYERS and his father on the airplanes phone
BYERS Whats your progress
LANGLY VO Ive hacked into the flight control system output
CUT BACK TO
LANGLY and FROHIKE are in front of their computer They are running some systems monitoring software
FROHIKE With a little bit of help
LANGLY Its what the brains of the plane is telling the little black box
FROHIKE Course heading attitude hold yaw axis stabilisation pauses what points at screen what the hecks that
LANGLY Is that what it looks like
FROHIKE I think it is what it looks like
CUT TO
On the plane with BYERS
BYERS What does what look like
LANGLY Modem protocol Remote access Somebody on the grounds flying your plane
CUT TO
DOD monitoring station The DOD operator we saw earlier is monitoring the Lone Gunmens progress Helm is with him
DOD OPERATOR Bogey sir
HELM Keep your course
CUT BACK TO
Onboard the aircraft
BYERS We need to know our flightplan
CUT BACK TO
LANGLY and FROHIKE are checking the flight data
FROHIKE Im mapping the data now
The monitor changes to show a map The map increases in detail and a line showing the flightplan is superimposed on it The line stops at a point on the map and the target building is highlighted FROHIKE and LANGLY look at each other
LANGLY Byers Your flights going to make an unscheduled stop In exactly 22 minutes
Cut to FROHIKE and LANGLY
FROHIKE Corner of Liberty and Washington Lower Manhattan
CUT TO
Onboard the aircraft BYERS and BYERS SNR are trying to keep their voices low
BYERS World Trade Center He turns to his father Theyre going to crash it into the World Trade Center
BYERS SNR Ill tell the flight crew
CUT TO
The Lone Gunmen offices LANGLY is frantically working at the console
BYERS VO Langly can you override the flight control system
LANGLY Working on it
CUT BACK TO
The aircraft flight deck BYERS SNR enters The pilot turns to him
PILOT What is this
The navigator tries to stop BYERS SNR
BYERS SNR My name is Bert Byers He shows them his ID I work for the government I believe this plane has been commandeered
PILOT Sir passengers are not allowed in the cockpit I need you to return to your seat now
BYERS SNR You dont have control of this plane and I dont know what we can do to get it back Turn off your autopilot There may be a chance we can override it
PILOT Sir Ill be happy to contact your superiors in the government
BYERS SNR rushes to the flight controls
PILOT Sir Dammit
The navigator hauls BYERS SNR back The CoPilot has grabbed the control stick
COPILOT Hes right
Cut to monitor in Lone Gunmen offices The screen shows ALERT SYSTEM OVERLOAD Flushing C Please wait
LANGLY Dammit Frozen again Exasperated Theyve encrypted the manual override commands
FROHIKE Well decrypt them then
LANGLY I dont have enough power
We cut between BYERS and the Lone Gunmen offices
LANGLY VO my CPUs are pegged
BYERS Langly whats happening
LANGLY Ill try decrypting in background mode
BYERS How long will that take
LANGLY On my calcs per sec I estimate pause seven to ten days
BYERS Oh Needless to say
LANGLY Our asses are fried
FROHIKE takes off his headset
LANGLY Where you going
FROHIKE To unfry us
LANGLY continues working on the computer which freezes again
SCENE 17
The firing range Yves is there dressed in black wearing earprotectors and firing down the range
FROHIKE I need that chip Yves
YVES Melvin I knew youd come begging sooner or later
FROHIKE Seriously Lay off the Melvin crap I need some serious gigaflops and I need them now
YVES Well I hear some guy with a beard took that chip
FROHIKE Those were a womans lips I kissed
YVES Like you ever kissed a girl before
FROHIKE I dont have time for this
Yves loads and locks a gun
YVES You going to take it away from me
FROHIKE Give us the chip Yves or youll be sacrificing the lives of hundreds of people including Byers and his father
YVES Im crying
FROHIKE Yeah youre one real tough cookie How much you going to enjoy spending the millions youll make selling that chip when you realise its been paid for in blood
YVES I guess you dont know me
FROHIKE Well maybe I do pause Lee Harvey Oswald
Yves looks at him
FROHIKE Your name Yves Adele Harlow is an anagram of Lee Harvey Oswald Some joke I know who you really are sugar And I can tell the world in my makes quote signs silly little rag
Fade to black
SCENE 18
Night We are flying over the New York City area high above the ground we see skyscrapers below Many lights and bright windows below us on the ground
CUT TO
Aircraft flight deck
PILOT All right try cutting electrical power
BYERS SNR Theyve thought of that Theyve thought of everything
The Pilot flips a switch turning on the tannoy in the passenger compartment
PILOT Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking We are experiencing some uh technical difficulties up here At this time we would like you all to return to your seats
BYERS SNR And kiss your asses goodbye
View through aircraft front window towards the twin towers
Cut to BYERS
BYERS Langly were getting close
Cut to LANGLY
LANGLY I know I know
Computer freezes again
LANGLY Dammit
Cut to view from aircraft again The City lights are getting brighter
PILOT New York Center This is Atlantic National flight 265 heavy We are declaring an emergency We have 110 souls on board 16000 pounds of fuel and no dangerous goods or cargo to report
Cut to LANGLY hitting the desk in frustration again
LANGLY Come on Frohike
Cut to aircraft cabin BYERS SNR and BYERS still on the phone
BYERS SNR Your friends have failed havent they
BYERS Theres still hope
BYERS SNR I hope my next funeral is as nice as my last one
A shot of the aircraft from above then from underneath showing the Twin Towers getting closer Then BYERS Then the pilot Then view through flight deck window Then LANGLY with his head in his hands
LANGLYs computer beeps The message on screen reads ALERT REMOTE ACCESS DETECTED Port 1080 offending IP 256659127
Then another message Manual Override Unlocked
LANGLY Oh B I N G O
He types The screen now shows Octium Inside Octium IV This is an obvious ripoff of the Intel Inside campaign
We cut to FROHIKE and YVES who are typing away on a laptop
We then cut to view of the Twin Towers approaching quickly then to flight deck Theres a beep and a green light shows on the control panel
COPILOT Weve got manual override
Scene of aircraft rapidly gaining altitude Passengers and belongings tumble to the cabin floor Long scene of aircraft flying up and eventually over the top of the buildings
Cut to airport Screen shows Flight 256 as cancelled BYERS and his father along with others are disembarking
BYERS If we cant get the FBI well go public With your testimony we can break this conspiracy wide open Bring Overlord down The whole operation
BYERS realises his father has lagged behind him He turns to face his father
BYERS Dad What is it
BYERS SNR God I see myself in you The same youthful enthusiasm idealism Pause I was so angry at you for so long because I didnt want you to waste your life tilting at windmills But I can see now youve got something I never had Beat Youre a brave man John
BYERS Realising what his father is saying Youre not going to testify Youre going to let them cover this up
BYERS SNR They almost killed me twice They wont fail a third time My silence will keep me alive he puts his hand on BYERS shoulder And you I know you and your friends are fighting for the American dream Pause Just dont expect to win
BYERS SNR walks away
SCENE 19
The Offices of The Lone Gunman A monitor is showing the latest copy of The Lone Gunman the headline reads Terrorist Attack Narrowly Averted
LANGLY So we go with this then
BYERS We cant do it We dont have the proof
LANGLY Then we dont have a lead story for this weeks issue
FROHIKE Yeah we do
FROHIKE starts typing Screen show headline changed to Octium IV Chip Invades Privacy
BYERS Well we certainly dont have proof of that
LANGLY Youre pistolpacking bearded lady has it remember
FROHIKE Yeah Well turnabouts fair play
FROHIKE holds up the chip
LANGLY How the hell did you get that
FROHIKE Hey Grinning Once youve had a little taste of Frohike
BYERS and LANGLY look sceptical
FROHIKE OK I grabbed it and ran
BYERS Well weve got a story to write
They all gather round the computer as BYERS starts typing The camera pans back Fade to black
THE END
2024-09-22 02:45:58 -
Pike:
Added the runtime.
2024-08-25 19:21:52 -
Pike:
Added a photo.
