NUMB3RS 3x07 - Blackout

8/11/2019 NUMB3RS 3x07 - Blackout

1/65

BUFF Rev: 10/2/06GOLDENROD Rev: 9/21/06

GREEN Rev: 9/20/06YELLOW Rev: 9/18/06

PINK Rev: 9/14/06BLUE Rev: 9/08/06

Blackout

#307/Ep.44

Written by

Andrew Dettmann

Directed by

Scott Lautanen

SCOTT FREE in association with CBS PARAMOUNT NETWORK TELEVISION, a divisionof CBS Studios.

Copyright 2006 CBS Paramount Network Television. All Rights Reserved.

This script is the property of CBS Paramount Network Television and may not be copied or distributed without the express written permission of CBS

Paramount Network Television. This copy of the script remains the propertyof CBS Paramount Network Television. It may not be sold or transferred and

must be returned to: CBS Paramount Network Television Legal Affairs4024 Radford Avenue Administration Bldg., Suite 390, Studio City, CA 91604

THE WRITING CREDITS MAY OR MAY NOT BE FINAL AND SHOULD NOT BE USED FORPUBLICITY OR ADVERTISING PURPOSES WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING WITH TELEVISIONLEGAL DEPARTMENT.

BUFF RevOctober 2 nd , 2006


2/65


3/65


4/65

DONSee?

A beat of silence. Thick. Yeah, theres chemistry here.

WARNER

Thanks for dinner.She leans in, kisses Don innocently... But then they kissagain. And again. Then another. Building momentum...

WARNERYou sure you wanna do this? Youregonna complicate this settled lifeof yours... This prosecutorgirlfriend...

DONIts already complicated.

Theres no stopping now. Theyre kissing, groping. Donpresses her against the door, shutting it. And we go --

EXT. LOS ANGELES - NIGHT3 3

AERIAL VIEW again. Following the scalloped POWER LINES...

EXT. ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION - NIGHT4 4

One of the hundreds of SUBSTATIONS that dot Los Angeles.Chain-link fence, surrounding a cramped pad of cables,transformers, load switches and reducers.

A lone maintenance engineer, RANDY SYLES, works amid thehumming equipment. Hes remarkably cool and focused, despitethe HIGH VOLTAGE sizzling all around...

As he strains, pulling on a wrench to loosen a time-rustedbolt, his CELL PHONE RINGS. He grabs it, tucks it under hischin, still working the wrench...

SYLES(into cell phone)

Hey... Its gonna be late... I

dont know how late; late.

NUMB3RS #307/44 "Blackout" BUFF Rev 10-02-06 2.CONTINUED:2 2

(CONTINUED)


5/65

As he continues to listen, the wrench suddenly slips, jumpingfrom his hands, contacting a cable. A BLUE FLASH, a showerof sparks. Cursing himself, he retrieves the phone from theground.

SYLES

It was nothing. Dropped the phone,thats all. But I need to go.Dont wait up.

He tucks the phone away, goes back to work. Suddenly, theROAR of a car engine. Syles is lit in a WASH OF HEADLIGHTS.

SYLESS P.O.V. - LOOKING OUT THROUGH THE FENCE --A5 A5

A CAR hurtles directly at the substation. Syles scrambles toget out of the way as --

The car plows through the fence and into the equipment.Thousands of volts are sent arcing. A spectacular explosion,

white-hot sparks filling the air. The 4th of July...

The area goes dark, except for the glow of the cracklingflames... A beat. Then boom! Another transformer explodes.

OMITTED5 5

INT. SMALL HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT6 6

CAMERA FINDS Dons gun and badge discarded on a chair.Warners badge and gun lay on the floor... Reveal Don andWarner on the bed. Dons on top of her, still in the build-up, kissing, groping, the last of the clothes coming off...As the heat builds, a CELL PHONE RINGS on the bedside table.

WARNERMine or yours...?

Don raises to see a blinking light.

DONMine...

He slides out of bed, finds the phone, answers --

DON(into phone)

Eppes... Alright. Meet you there.(hangs up, turns)

Ive gotta go.


(CONTINUED)


6/65

He starts dressing.

WARNERYou got my clothes off, now youregonna leave...?

DONSomeone just blew up a powersubstation. Homeland Securitys

worried were looking at terrorism.(beat, pulling on clothes)

What if I come back later...?

WARNERI have to get up early...

DONHow early?

She smiles at his persistence, offers him an option.

WARNERIm locking the door at midnight.

A charged look between them. Then Don goes.

EXT. POWER SUBSTATION - NIGHT7 7

FIREMEN drag equipment and extinguishers, clearing out of theCRIME SCENE. Little is left of the car, badly burned amidthe twisted metal of the substation.

We find DON ARRIVING. He crosses in front of the firetrucks work lights, where hes greeted by DAVID.

DAVIDJust got the all-clear from LAFD.Power companys taken the stationoff line.

As they head into the wreckage, looking around --

DAVIDIf this is terrorism, its pretty

low impact. A few thousandcustomers spend the night in thedark?

DONDoesnt rule out a test run. Theyhit a single target tonight. Nextattack could be wide scale...


(CONTINUED)


7/65

They reach ground zero. Blackened, except for a YELLOW TARPleft by firemen to mark the remains of Randy Syles.

DONOne body...

DAVIDA worker, doing routine maintenance.

DONWheres the driver?

DAVIDNo sign of him. Mustve got outbefore the fire, ran off...

DON(seeing something)

Or maybe there was no driver...Look at this.

Don shines his flashlight inside. The beam finds the gaspedal, studded with small SHARDS OF WOOD.

DAVIDWhat is that, wood splinters..?

David leans in further, checks the drivers-side floor... andremoves a charred length of two-by-four...

DAVIDSomeone used a two-by-four to jamthe gas pedal.

INT. FBI - WAR ROOM - NIGHT8 8

Late, after hours. Don enters the war room. MEGAN and COLBYare already here, putting together a FILE.

DONThanks for staying late.


(CONTINUED)


8/65

COLBYI could use the overtime.

MEGANWe dont get overtime, Granger.

COLBYYeah, I know. And its a shamecause I could use it.

He puts a PHOTO up on the plasmas, DMV shot of Randy Syles.

COLBYHeres what I found on the victim.Randy Syles, 31. A wife and two *kids. *

DONHow longs he been with the powercompany?

COLBYHes not. Not officially anyway.

(off Don and Megan)Substations owned by RenaultEnergy. Theyre in the middle of alabor dispute. Unions been onstrike for 6 weeks. *

MEGANSo he was a scab. Union workers *cant be happy about that. Could *be motive... *

David enters the room.

DAVIDPrint-out on the car that was used.Its not going to get us anywhere.

DONStolen.

DAVID

This afternoon. Echo Park area.MEGAN

Echo Park... Thats a long wayfrom the crime scene.


(CONTINUED)


9/65


10/65

ALANCmon now, if you two are going tofight over your toys, Ill have totake them away...

CHARLIE

Its not a toy. Its anelectrostatic lifter.

LARRYTheres still some very seriousdisagreement as to how exactly itoperates... Biefeld-Brown effect,ionization of the corona wire, orsimple dielectrophoresis...

ALAN(wry)

Boy, Id hate to be in the roomduring that debate.

LARRYYou joke, but its a heated issue.

(then, finished)Lets see what happens when weapply a little current...

Larry turns the dial on the attached transformer. Thecontraption levitates off the table, floating in air.

ALANWow, thats amazing... But unlessyou can do that to my car, I stillsay its a toy.

The front door opens. Don enters. He sets his things down,notices several partially-burned candles around the room.

DONWhats with the candles? You guyslose power tonight?

ALANYeah. It was out for a few hours.


(CONTINUED)


11/65

DONCase Im working; someone blew asubstation in Mission Hills.

ALANMission Hills? Seems strange wed

be effected way out here, doesntit?

LARRYNot really. Its called aprecautionary broad-line reduction.Operators shut down the power untilthey can restore balance.

DONThe balance of what?

CHARLIEThe thing you have to rememberabout electricity, unlike otherresources, it cant easily bestored. Generally, it has to beconsumed within milliseconds ofbeing produced.

LARRYWhich means for the powercompanies, its a constant game ofbalance between electricityproduction and its consumption.

CHARLIEWhen the substation in MissionHills failed, there would have beena surge in other areas...

ALAN(following)

So operators strategically shutdown large areas until they canrestore balance.

DON

What if they didnt?LARRY

Worst case scenario..? A cascadingfailure.


(CONTINUED)


12/65

CHARLIE(off Don and Alan)

Remember the game JENGA? The towerof wooden blocks? Well, thesubstations are just like theindividual blocks...

AUDIENCE VISION - A JENGA game, blocks stacked alongalternate axes, creating a tower. As a HAND removes one ofthe blocks, and the tower remains standing --

CHARLIE (V.O.)Theres enough redundancy that manyof the blocks can be removed orknocked out, without a great affectto the system as a whole...

A HAND selects another block, starts to remove it --

CHARLIE (V.O.)But, if the wrong block, or in thiscase substation, is taken out,especially after the networks been

weakened... then the entire systemcould come crashing down...

The Tower of blocks collapses into a chaotic heap.

DONYou mean like that huge blackout onthe East Coast three years ago...

CHARLIEExactly. Fifty million people leftin the dark, all from the failureof a single switch.

ALAN(turning to Don)

You think whoever did this thingtonight had something like that in

mind?

LARRY

If they did, I cant imagine youveseen the last of them...

Off Don --

END OF TEASER



13/65

ACT ONE

TWO SECOND GRAPHIC BUMPER:

INT. FBI - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY10 10

KARI SYLES, 28, newly-widowed, compulsively wrings her hands,

pacing, struggling to avert utter collapse --KARI

I talked to him on the phone just minutes before it happened. He was... there, you know? Then...

suddenly hes not.

Colby and Megan look on. Kari is shaky.

MEGANMaybe you should sit down.

KARIIm sorry, Im acting like a crazyperson. Its just... I cantbelieve hes dead...

COLBYMrs. Syles, we know your husband

was only working for Renault ashort time...

KARISince the strike. The pay was so

much better than his usual job.

COLBYDo you know if he received anythreats for crossing the picketlines?

KARIHe tried to keep it from me... buthe got calls, I know he did.Thats why he started working atnight. He figured there was lesschance hed run into trouble.

(then)You really think someone killed himfor trying to earn a living?

NUMB3RS #307/44 "Blackout" BUFF Rev 10-02-06 11.

(CONTINUED)


14/65

MEGANWe dont know yet. But emotionsrun high during a strike. Peoplesee their livelihoods threatened...

KARI

Someone had to do the work.Otherwise people would be in thedark. Like the station that failedtwo nights ago. Wasnt one ofRobbys... but he said that wasjust poor maintenance...

Megan glances to Colby, then back to Kari Syles.

MEGANThere was another substationfailure...?

KARIThats what Robby said. In BoyleHeights...

INT. FBI - BULLPEN - DONS DESK - DAY11 11

Megan reports to Don --

MEGANNight before last, Renault Energy hadanother substation go down.

DONWhat do we know about it?

MEGANRenault blamed it on wear and tear.With the strike, they cant meet

maintenance schedules.

DONYeah, well, I dont believe incoincidence.

Charlie, just entering --

CHARLIEWhy not? Coincidence is, afterall, an absolutely valid

mathematical occurrence...


(CONTINUED)


15/65

DONThis ones not math, Charlie. Thisones my gut. Two substationfailures in two nights. Im

willing to bet theyre related.

MEGANIf they are, then Randy Syles wasnt the target last night.

CHARLIETheyre after the substations...

MEGANDoesnt rule out the striking workersas suspects. Every blackout is badPR for the power company, helps theunions bargaining position.

DONPR isnt my concern. My worry istheyll be able to crash the entiregrid? Charlie, whatd you call it?

CHARLIEA cascading failure.

MEGANBut to do that theyd have to knockout all the substations, right?

CHARLIENo. Just the right one.

Beat as that sinks in... and Charlie thinks. Then --

CHARLIEYou know, if a cascading failure is

what theyre after, I might be ableto predict where the next attack

will come...

DONHow?


(CONTINUED)


16/65

CHARLIELoad Flow Analysis. If you can get

me usage and current-flow figuresfrom the power company, a Load FlowAnalysis could tell us whichsubstations are the most critical,

those that would most likely be thenext target...

Don sees Liz Warner approaching from the direction of theelevators, wraps up the conversation --

DONAlright, Charlie. Well get you

what you need.

Don turns, as Warner reaches him. She smiles, holds out apair of SUNGLASSES. Like before, theres HEAT between them.

WARNERYou left these last night.

DONMustve fallen out of my jacket.

Don takes the sunglasses, glances over, aware of Megan andCharlie nearby. As Charlie heads out, and Megan gets to

work, Don takes Warner aside.

DONWe ended up being here pretty latelast night...

WARNERYou dont have to explain.

DONIn case you were wondering.

WARNERI appreciate it... but I really didjust come by to return the glasses.

(then)Ive got a meeting upstairs in

about...(checks her watch)...well, about now, really. So Igotta run.

DON(re: the sunglasses)

Thanks for these.


(CONTINUED)


17/65

She starts to go, then stops, takes a step closer, quietly.

WARNERDont get me wrong, Eppes. I

wouldnt say no to a rain-check.

Another look, then she goes. Don watches her a beat... then moves back toward his desk. Megan looks up.

MEGANQuick visit.

DONShe was just returning my glasses.

MEGANSo I heard... Everything alrightbetween you and Robin?

DONEverythings fine.

Megan waits for more info. None comes. Conversation over.

INT. LARRYS OFFICE - NIGHT12 12

CLOSE ON a blue arc of electricity, snapping like lightningacross the electrodes of a JACOBS LADDER. WIDER REVEALS --

Larry at his desk, looking over the device. Charlie at theboard, crunching numbers amid maps of the LA POWER GRID.

CHARLIEAmazing when you look at how muchenergy we actually consume...

Larry spins his chair to a foot-thick Power Company printout.

LARRYAnd how much paperwork goes withit. This is staggering...

AMITA enters.

AMITA I didnt realize you were stillhere. Whatre you working on?


(CONTINUED)


18/65

CHARLIEWere trying to determine whichsubstation wed attack if we wantedto black out most of SouthernCalifornia.

AMITA Please tell me this isnt a prankfor Senior Ditch Day.

CHARLIEIts something for Don.

Charlie goes back to his calculations. Another arc snapsacross the capacitor on Larrys desk.

LARRYDid I ever tell you how one year,in graduate school, I attempted tolive without electricity?

CHARLIEThey had electricity when you werein graduate school, Larry?

LARRYFunny, Charles, thank you for that.

AMITA Why would you want to go withoutpower? Some kind of Thoreau,Walden Pond phase or something?

LARRYIt had to do with a girl I wasdating. Sandra Darwinkle, yes, herreal name. You have to remember we

were only slightly post energycrisis - the first one. Shethought it would make a politicalstatement. I thought it might get

me... well, you know...

AMITA

Lucky?LARRY

Yes.


(CONTINUED)


19/65

AMITA And did it?

LARRYIt might have... were I able tofully embrace the power-free

lifestyle. But you know me anddental hygiene...

CHARLIEShe caught you with your electrictoothbrush, didnt she?

LARRYA water-pick actually, but with thesame result. Sadly, that was theend of my relationship with SandraDarwinkle.

Larry has a wistful moment. Interrupted by Charlie --

CHARLIEOkay, I think I have it. If I

wanted to cause a cascadingfailure, this is the one Idchoose.

EXT. SCENIC MULHOLLAND TURNOUT - LOVERS LANE - NIGHT13 13

High-tension towers. Scalloping POWER LINES. The Valleyspread out forever below, a blanket of lights. Several carssit parked off the pavement on a turnout - LOVERS LANE.But one of the cars is a familiar FBI SEDAN...

INT. FBI SEDAN - NIGHT14 14

David and Colby on STAKEOUT, watching a power substation acouple hundred yards away. Colby raises night-vision binocs.

COLBYS P.O.V. - THROUGH NIGHT VISION --

The substation seen in shades of green. Heat off the linesand junctions create hot spots. The glowing form of a coyoteappears, then disappears... but nothing in human shape...

DAVIDAnything?

COLBYNo. Nothing.


(CONTINUED)


20/65

DAVIDCharlie says this is the spot.

Beat. David sips his coffee. Colby glances around, takes insome of the other cars parked in the turnout.

COLBYHey, you think Megan ever comes uphere with Fleinhardt?

DAVIDOh, cmon, man. When are you gonnagive that whole thing a rest?

COLBYWhat? Guys into that classic carof his, doesnt have a place tolive. Hes got limited options...

DAVIDColby, man, youre obsessed, andits sad. Whys it so hard for youto wrap your head around the factthat the two of them are dating?

COLBYYou saying it doesnt seem evenjust a little bit weird to you?

DAVIDI dont think about it?

COLBYSeriously?

David gives Colby a look. Colby shuts up with a smile, liftsthe Night Vision Binocs to have another look. David turnshis attention out at the city lights, and REACTS --

DAVIDThey hit again!

Davids already climbing out the car. Colby gets out --

EXT. SCENIC MULLHOLLAND TURNOUT - LOVERS LANE - CONTINUOUS15 15The Agents look out over the endless blanket of lights aslarge squares SUDDENLY DROP INTO DARKNESS, one, another, thenanother (visual fx), creating an uneven CHECKERBOARD oflights and darks stretched out before them...

Colby raises the binocs, checks the substation. Its quiet.


(CONTINUED)


21/65


22/65

ACT TWO


EXT. SILVER LAKE SUBSTATION (D.L.V. ENERGY) - NIGHT16 16

The latest target, but no obvious signs of damage aside from

some charring. David breaks off from an LAPD Uniform, joinsColby whos coming out of the wreckage.

DAVIDHowd they do it?

COLBYLooks like they tossed a thickpiece of rebar across thetransformer grid, caused a short.

DAVIDAnd that would bring it all down?

LARRY (V.O.)Absolutely...

The Agents turn as Larry and Megan arrive behind them.

LARRYRebar, metal, obviously highlyconductive... It provided apathway between the high and lowsides... There was an instant loadsurge, driving the transformers waybeyond their capacity, and boom.

MEGANWe were having dinner when thelights in the restaurant went out.

Colby throws David a look. David looks to Megan.

DAVIDDons briefing the Mayor. Sixtythousand customers lost power thistime...

LARRY(looking around)This isnt where Charlie and Ipredicted theyd strike...

DAVIDNo. We were staked out up onMulholland.


(CONTINUED)


23/65

MEGANBut they hit here instead.Question is why?

NUMB3RS #307/44 "Blackout" BUFF Rev 10-02-06 20A.CONTINUED:16 16

(CONTINUED)


24/65

COLBYQuestion is who? Our prime suspectgroup doesnt make sense anymore...

MEGANThe striking workers...

COLBYThis substations owned by anindependent company. Its not tiedto Renault Energy or the labordispute in any way...

DAVIDWhich means terrorism moves backinto the number one slot.

Beat. Just then --

LAPD COP (O.S.)Hey, weve got a body over here.

EXT. OUTSIDE THE SUBSTATION FENCE - MOMENTS LATER17 17

ANGLE ON a macabre scene - a BODY (male, Latino, 30), outsidethe fence, definitely dead, but eerily still propped up,hands gripping a fence post. Flashlight beams dance over himas the Agents approach, David taking it in --

DAVIDHes dead?

COLBY(as the Cops nod)

Company had nobody on tonight.Hes not a worker.

MEGANThen Id say we just found a newsuspect.

Beat, taking in the scene. As Colby checks the body.

DAVID

Probably climbed the fence to throwthe rebar onto the grid, was stillholding on when it shorted out.

Larry hangs back, scientifically intrigued, but wary...


(CONTINUED)


25/65

LARRYElectricity, always looking for aplace to go... It jumped to thefence post as a ground, usedthis... poor gentleman as well.

COLBYHes got no ID... And no chance inhell were gonna be able to pullprints; not with his hands fused tothe pole like that.

MEGANCar keys, cell phone?

COLBYNothing.

David notes the Dead Perps pockets, pulled inside out. Helooks to the LAPD Cop.

DAVIDWere his pockets turned out likethis when you found him?

COPYeah. I didnt touch anything.

LARRY(cringes, repulsed)

Someone went through his pockets?

COLBYWhoever hes working with cleanedhim out to keep us from IDing him.

MEGANHold on. On his neck...

Megan moves close, shines her light on a TATTOO peeking outof the Dead Perps collar. Tattoo reads - 4-B-27.

MEGANIts a prison tattoo. 4-B-27.

DAVIDThats a cell block at Chino. Hesdone time there.

MEGANWe fax his picture, maybe somebodythere can give us a name...


(CONTINUED)


26/65

Off the Dead Perp --

MATCH CUT TO:

INT. FBI - WAR ROOM - DAY18 18

The Dead Perps death photo on the big screen. WIDEN toreveal his MUG SHOT.

COLBY (V.O.)Alejandro Muoz.

REVEAL Agents running it for Don. Charlies here too.

COLBYSalvadorian national. Releasedfrom Chino six months ago after afour-year stint for drug dealing.

DONWe have any known ties toterrorism?

COLBYStill checking...

Beat. Don turns toward his brother.

DONCharlie, explain to me why theattack was in Silver Lake and not *up on Mulholland like you *predicted.

CHARLIE(matter of fact)

My guess is we were wrong. We *assumed the objective was a *cascading failure, remember?

COLBYYoure saying maybe thats not whatthese guys were after.


(CONTINUED)


27/65

DONSo were wrong on suspects and

wrong on motive...

Beat. David hangs up the phone call hes been on.

DAVIDI think I have a line on Muozsaccomplice...

(off notes in his hand)Cell phone records. Last 3 days,he traded more than a dozen calls

with one number... Traces to a guynamed Lyle Donahue. Hes anelectrical engineer, former memberof the State Utility Commission...

As Colby starts typing in the new information... *

CHARLIEFormer member...

DAVIDHe helped stage a phony powershortage back in 2001. Made a *fortune when the price shot up... *

COLBYBut he was caught...

Colby brings Donahues mug shot up on the plasmas... *

DAVIDServed two and half years for *utility price manipulation...

COLBY *And he did his time in Chino, same *as Muoz... *

David nods. A beat. Don thinking -- *

DON *Blowing up substations... Thats

gotta have some kind of effect onutility prices, right?

COLBYYoure thinking Lyle Donahues backto his old game again...


(CONTINUED)


28/65

DAVIDMakes sense. Hes not an insideranymore. Maybe hes found a new

way to manipulate the power market.

CHARLIE

By crashing the substations.COLBY

(off Muozs photo)Or hiring an old prisonacquaintance to do it.

Beat. Don moves into action --

DONLets find this guy Donahue. Setup on his phones, his credit cards,his house, everything. I wanna gethim in here...

INT. CHARLIES OFFICE - DAY19 19

Charlies at the boards, working. Amita enters carrying a magazine.

AMITA Hey, Charlie, I was thinking aboutyou last night.

CHARLIE(intrigued)

Is that right?

AMITA (ha ha)

I was preparing a lecture and Ifound an interesting article onsynapse reflexivity. I thought it

might fit into your cognitiveemergence theory.

CHARLIEOh. Thanks.

She eyes Charlies boards...

AMITA Another Load Flow Analysis...


(CONTINUED)


29/65


30/65

I guess if you made the rightinvestments, hit the right targets,you could do pretty well.

CHARLIEIf you hit the right targets youcould do very well... only these

guys arent hitting the righttargets.

AMITA What do you mean?

CHARLIEIf youre really trying toinfluence price, there are so manyother substations to hit that wouldhave a greater impact.

AMITA Then whats this all about?

CHARLIEI dont know. I mean, all thatsreally been accomplished is a fewlocalized blackouts...

Beat. Amita thinks about it.

AMITA Charlie. All your focus so far hasbeen on the global systemicobjective - first the cascadingfailure, now market manipulations.

CHARLIEYeah. Thats right...

AMITA Youve been treating the blackoutsas a secondary by-product.


AMITA (cont'd)

(CONTINUED)


31/65


32/65

INT. EPPES HOUSE - DINING ROOM - DAY21 21

Don comes in off the stairs, carrying several files, as Alanappears from the kitchen.

ALAN

Donny, hey. Didnt even realizeyou were here.

DONJust needed to grab some files Ileft behind the other night.

ALANYou think youll be around fordinner this evening? Or do youalready have plans with Robin?

DONWhat, no... No plans.

ALANReally? Coulda sworn I rememberedyou saying something about aconcert.

(then)Hows that going between you twoanyway?

DONIts going fine.

ALANFine? What, you cant talk to meabout it?


(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


33/65

Do I need a security clearance toget information about your lovelife?

Don stops eating, eyes Alan.

DON

Dad, whatre you doing?ALAN

What? Im not doing anything.

DONIve conducted about a thousandinterrogations, alright? I knowall the strategies... Youretrying to pump me for informationabout Robin. Why?

Alan signs, pulls out a chair, sits down opposite Don.

ALANAlright... I talked to Charlieearlier. He said a woman came tosee you at work...

(as Don reacts)A woman not Robin. He said it wasfairly obvious there was somethinggoing on between you two...

DONThats none of Charlies business,or yours either, Dad, Im sorry.

ALANWe talked about how much you wantedthings to work out with Robin,remember? You cant expect to havea meaningful relationship if yourenot willing to commit to it...

DONDad, Im not gonna have thisconversation.

Dons CELL PHONE RINGS, a welcomed interruption.


ALAN (cont'd)

(CONTINUED)


34/65

DON(answering)

Eppes...

INT. FBI - BULLPEN - DAY - INTERCUT22 22

David on the other end of the call.DAVID

(into phone)Don. Lyle Donahue, the engineer...Weve been sitting on his creditcards. He just used one. A bar upon Sunset, corner of Gardener.

DON(checks his watch)

We wait, we might lose him. TakeMegan and hit it.

Don hangs up, gathers to go, holds Alans gaze for a moment.

DONLook, Dad... Im doing the best Ican.

ALANHow? By getting together with thisother girl...?

DONMaybe Robin and I just arent meantto work out...

INT. SUNSET BAR - DAY23 23

Mixed crowd. Hipsters, after-work suits. David and Meganenter, casual enough to fit in...

They move through, eyes scanning the patrons for Donahue. AsMegan circles toward the bar, David veers off for a quickcheck of the mens room. They meet again near the bar.

DAVID

Dont see him.MEGAN

He had time to leave.

They approach the bar, motion to the BARTENDER. Meganflashes her badge, pulls out a picture of Donahue.


(CONTINUED)


35/65


36/65

EXT. LITTERED ALLEYWAY - DAY24 24

Davids FBI Sedan rolls to a stop. David gets out. Meganand Colby too, Colby dragging the Punk from the back seat.

COLBY

Show us where.The Punk stops about twenty feet from a parked Lexus --

THE PUNKThere. In the car.

David sits the Punk on the ground. The Agents approach theLexus... and find the very dead body of Lyle Donahue.

MEGANIts Donahue.

Megan reaches in with a gloved hand, turns Donahues head toreveal a single bullet hole. The Punk calls out to them.

THE PUNKI didnt do it. He was that way

when I found him!

DAVIDSingle shot, behind the ear...

(nods re: the Punk)Little too professional for thisbozo, dont you think?

MEGANYeah. Donahue was probably alreadydead when he took the credit card.

A beat. Megan glances around the alley, back to David.

MEGANYou know this means weve got moreplayers in the game than just ourSalvadorian and Donahue...

COLBY

Maybe other investors in Donahuespricing scam...

DAVIDWe found Muoz, made the connectionto Donahue. Somebody wanted to

make sure we dont go any higher upthe chain.


(CONTINUED)


37/65

MEGANYeah, so whos the somebody? Andjust how high up does this chaingo?

Off the Agents and Donahues body --

END OF ACT TWO



38/65

ACT THREE


INT. FBI - BULLPEN - DAY25 25

Charlie sits at Dons desk, waiting anxiously. He jumps up

as Don and Megan enter, intercepts them.CHARLIE

Weve been going the wrongdirection.

DONGive us a minute, Charlie. We justfound Lyle Donahue.

CHARLIE(anticipating)

And did you talk to him? Did hetell you?

MEGANHes dead, Charlie. Somebody shothim.

DONWhich means were dealing with alarger price-fixing conspiracy than

we thought - investors maybe...

CHARLIEThis doesnt have anything to do

with price fixing.

MEGANWhat do you mean, Charlie? What doyou think is going on?

CHARLIEI dont know, but I can tell youits about the blackouts.


(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


39/65

At first they appeared disparateand unrelated, but when I looked atthem in the context of set theory,I found they had a lot in common.

(off their looks)Lemme just show you.

CUT TO:INT. FBI - WAR ROOM - MOMENTS LATER26 26

Close on a large map of Los Angeles as Charlie spreads it outacross one of the tables.

CHARLIEThereve been three substationattacks. Each of those caused ablackout over a particular region.

Charlie lays a clear overlay onto the map - a shaded area.

CHARLIEThis is the area hit by the firstblackout - the Boyle Heightssubstation failure.

(another overlay)The second, here. Caused by theoutage that killed the maintenance

worker... And the third...

He places the third overlay on top of the others.

MEGANThe three blackouts overlap.

CHARLIEThats right, and to astatistically significant extent.

DONSo three nights in a row, thisareas been blacked out...

CHARLIEThat was Donahues objective.

Don and Megan peel back the overlays, look closer at the map.


CHARLIE (cont'd)

(CONTINUED)


40/65

DONCould be what - they were trying tocover some sort of heist, knock outa security system for a theft orrobbery...

MEGANLot of possible targets in the area- banks, brokerages, museums...But I havent seen any reports ofbreak-ins...

Beat. Don turns to Charlie.

DONCharlie, were looking at most ofdowntown here. Any way you can be

more specific, narrow it down?

CHARLIEThis is the best I could do with

what I had.

MEGANWait a minute. What about these?

She goes and grabs the sheets of calculations recovered atthe scene of Donahues murder, hands them to Charlie.

MEGANThese were in Donahues car when wefound him.

CHARLIE(looking them over)

Pretty high-end stuff. Dantzig-Wolf decompositions, NetworkInterdiction Strategies...

DONCould those tell you exactly whatarea he was trying to black out?If we knew where, it might tell us

why.

CHARLIEIm going to need to go over them.


(CONTINUED)


41/65


42/65

CHARLIERight. So Donahue did all thesecalculations in order to predictthe human operators response tohis attacks. Got to admit, itspretty impressive...

LARRYImpressive, yes. But it doesntget us any closer to discoveringhis intended target, does it?

Charlie sets down his chalk, frustrated.

CHARLIEIve done every single permutationI can think of, gone over and overthe three substations he attacked.I cant narrow it down.

LARRY(then, thinking aloud)

Charles, what about the other substations that effect downtown?

CHARLIEHe didnt choose the others.

LARRYThats precisely my point. Whynot? Presumably because they

wouldnt result in a blackout thatincluded his target.

CHARLIE(getting it)

An exclusionary approach. Runcalculations on the othersubstations, see what area ofdowntown is omitted...

LARRYAnd, I might point out, its a much

more powerful approach than what

youve been working with.As Charlie goes back to work --



43/65


44/65

WARNERBut Ill call you when I get back.

Another beat. Then she goes. Off Don --

INT. FBI - WAR ROOM - DAY29 29

Colby and Megan working. They look up as Charlie enters withobvious purpose --

CHARLIEIve got it!

MEGANYou narrowed down the targetarea...

As Charlie sets down his stuff and unfurls the target mapfrom earlier (2nd scene, act 3)...

CHARLIETurns out there are 12 substations

whose failure would directly orindirectly cause a blackoutdowntown...

AUDIENCE VISION - As Charlies map animates. Downtown andthe surrounding area fills the screen. Three OVERLAYS fallin rapid succession, recreating what Charlie did earlier...

CHARLIEOverlaying the boundaries of thethree blackouts gave us an initialtarget area.

Where they overlap, the large, vague target area fromearlier emerges, glowing brightly...

Resume Charlie and the Agents with the corresponding map.

MEGANBut Charlie, that area was too big,too vague.

CHARLIEI know. Mapping the blackouts fromthe three attacks was only thefirst step.


(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


45/65

The real key was examining thesubstations Donahue didntattack...

AUDIENCE VISION - Animating the map again. The vaguetarget area fills the screen, saturating with illumination,glowing. Nine, shadowy overlays land in rapid succession --

CHARLIEDonahue rejected the 9 others astargets because the blackouts they

wouldve caused didnt includedthis area...

With the nine shadows landed, only a small sliver of thevague target area remains lit... The map de-animatesback to...

The live map, with Charlie pointing to a tiny spot.

COLBYSo this is the area he was tryingto black out...? Thats just acouple blocks from here.

CHARLIE(reading the map)

Its something called the J. EdwardRice building.

MEGANThe Rice building.

CHARLIEYeah. What?

COLBYThats the downtown FederalDetention Center.

MEGANDonahue was choreographing a prisonbreak.

Off the Agents --

END OF ACT THREE


CHARLIE (cont'd)


46/65


47/65

BAKERSame as any hallway in the Center.Probably more secure cause theresno inmate access where they are.

DAVID

And the last three nights, duringthe blackouts... You had noincidents? No one trying to get tothe generators, maybe trying todisable them..?

Baker shakes his head.

BAKERPowered us through, no problems.

(then)Im telling you, if these blackoutsare an attempt to get to us...someone hasnt done their homework.Were the last place to feel theeffect...

Off David and Don --

OMITTED31 31

NUMB3RS #307/44 "Blackout" BUFF Rev 10-02-06 42A.CONTINUED:30 30


48/65

EXT. THE BRIDGE - DAY32 32

Megans outside, leaning on the rail, looking towarddowntown. Larry approaches, finds her.

LARRY

You look awfully contemplative; asif pondering some great mystery ofthe universe, perhaps?


(CONTINUED)


49/65


50/65

MEGANThats standard procedure. Werelooking for the bigger fish.

LARRYBut how do you know youre fishing

in the right direction.(then)In 1959, Richard Feynman gave afamous lecture called TheresPlenty of Room at the Bottom. Italtered the thinking of a wholegeneration of scientists, turnedtheir focus around, challengingthem to think smaller and smaller,instead of larger...

(then)Youre working from Muoz toDonahue, to someone further up thechain. Perhaps you should be

working in the opposite direction.

MEGANYoure saying the plan to blow upthe substations could haveoriginated on Muozs end...

LARRYIt deserves consideration.

MEGAN(realizing)

It would explain why we cant finda connection between Donahue andthe Federal Detention Center -there isnt one. The connection isAlejandro Muoz.

Off Megan.

INT. FBI - BULLPEN - DAY - LATER33 33

Don and David enter, just returning. Charlies here. As Dontakes off his coat, he fills Charlie in --

DONThe prisons immune from theblackouts.

CHARLIEWhat do you mean immune?


(CONTINUED)


51/65

DAVIDThey have a back-up power system.The recent shutdowns didnt evenruffle their feathers...

Beat. Don looks to Charlie again.

DONThere are a lot of other possibletargets in the area...

CHARLIEIm not wrong about the prison.

DONCharlie, they lost power the lastthree nights. Their dieselgenerators kicked in. There wasabsolutely no impact...

CHARLIEYou cannot have an event in aclosed system without a subsequentimpact on the system. Thats animpossibility.

DONDont go all Sir-Isaac-Newton on

me.(to David)

Lets just take another look at the map, see what else is nearby...

Charlie follows Don and David as they head into --



52/65

INT. FBI - WAR ROOM - CONTINUOUS34 34

Megan and Colby are here, Colbys finishing up a phone call.Megan sees Don entering, jumps to her feet --

MEGAN

We just found the link between theblackouts and the prison.

CHARLIEYou wanna tell me again how Im

wrong?

DON(to Megan)

You found a link to Donahue?

COLBYTo Alejandro Muoz.

MEGANMuoz was Salvadorian. Turns outhes got close family ties to oneof the big drug cartels. The samecartel that was supplying IvanTabakians drug operation at theSouthland Downs race track.

DONTabakian...

COLBYHes currently locked up inside theFederal Detention Center.

MEGANDon, thats gotta be who theyrebreaking out.

All eyes go to Don. He looks bothered - it doesnt add up.

CHARLIEWhats the matter?

DONIvan Tabakian made a deal with theUS Attorneys Office. Hes goingto testify against theSalvadorians.


(CONTINUED)


53/65

COLBYSo the blackouts were a way tocover a hit, allow another inmateto get close enough to Tabakian toshank him...

DONTabakians gotta be in solitary.Theyre not going to allow anotherinmate anywhere near him.

DAVIDAnd besides, we know the blackoutsdidnt impact prison operations.So how are they a part of the plan?

CHARLIEThe blackouts have to have had someimpact...

DONCharlie, we were there. We didntsee any...

CHARLIE(beat, thinking aloud)

You said they ran their generatorsthree nights in a row, right? Howare the generators fueled?

DAVIDThey run on diesel.

CHARLIEOkay, a facility that large...Theyd have to have burned througha lot of fuel...

MEGANWhat if that was the purpose of theblackouts, to run the fuel tanksempty. Then a fourth blackout

would put them in the dark.

COLBYYeah, but theyd never let thetanks run dry. Theyd just order

more fuel, get an emergencydelivery.

Beat. Stumped. Then --


(CONTINUED)


54/65

DONThe truck! An unscheduled deliveryof fuel.

CHARLIEThey get a truck in there, they

have a way to break this guyTabakian out, wouldnt they?

COLBYBut Don, you just said Tabakianturned against his suppliers. Why

would they go through the troubleto try and free him?

MEGANMakes a lot more sense for them tokill him.

DAVID(realizing)

Theyre going after him. Thisisnt a break-out. Its a breakin.

Off the Agents --

END OF ACT FOUR



55/65


56/65


57/65

DAVIDEmpty. Its a Trojan Horse.Theyre already inside the prison.

COLBYSWATs out on a call. Theyll be

twenty minutes, at least...DON

Weve got forty-five prisonofficers in there on our side.

MEGANExcept their weapons are locked inthe armory. Takes time to deploythem...

DONWe wait for SWAT, thisll all beover. Weve gotta make a move.

A look around the group. The others nod...

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - NARROW CRAWL SPACE41 41

One by one, the four Gang Soldiers drop down from above,landing in this narrow, pipe-lined corridor. As they move --

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - ATTORNEY ROOM42 42

Warner enters. AUSA DIANE VERANO (50) is already here. Sheoffers her hand, introduces herself.

VERANOAssistant US Attorney, DianeVerano.

WARNERSpecial Agent Liz Warner. Imgoing to be heading the transportand safe-house detail.

VERANOI just have some paperwork Mr.

Tabakian has to sign, then hell beall yours.

A beat. Off Warner --



58/65

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - NARROW CRAWL SPACE43 43

Still undetected, the Gang Soldiers make there way throughthe corridor until they reach a door at its end. A silentnod between them, then the first opens the door --

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - CORRIDOR - CONTINUOUS44 44The Gang Soldiers emerge into a the open corridor, suddenlyencountering an unsuspecting Guard. The Guard, unarmed, goesfor his radio. Before he can get to it, PFFFT! PFFFT! twosilenced rounds take him down.

As two Gang Soldiers stash the Guards body, the other twobreak off in a new direction...

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - HALLWAY45 45

IVAN TABAKIAN, in wrist cuffs, is escorted down the hall bytwo Guards, one on each arm. Theyre entirely unaware of theeminent danger...

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER46 46

We find Don and the other Agents as they emerge from theservice corridor into a main hallway. They look back andforth, wary. Don spots a pair of guards watching over aninmate cleaning crew, runs toward them...

DONHey! FBI! Your securitys beenbreached. Youve got one or morearmed men inside the prison.

DAVIDTheyve already killed at least oneof your guys. You need to get some

men to the armory and break outsome weapons...


(CONTINUED)


59/65


60/65

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - RAMP50 50

Gang Soldiers #1 and #2 pound up the stairs. They reach thenext landing, and as they go for the door. BOOM! A SHOTGUNblast from a level above nearly cuts them down.

The Gang Soldiers return fire from their automatics, droppingthe Shotgun Guard above. Then they go through the door...

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - OUTSIDE ATTORNEY ROOM51 51

Gang Soldiers #3 and #4 appears, look around quickly. NoGuards visible.

Just up ahead is the door marked Attorney Room.

The Soldiers close fast on the door. They raise their guns,and after a brief look between them, they bang inside...

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - ATTORNEY ROOM52 52

The Soldiers enter to find the table has been turned on itsside. Whoever is in the room is clearly hiding behind it...

The Soldiers enter further, raising their guns, rounding thetable. Theyre completely unaware that Don and the otherAgents are already here, lying in wait behind them.

BAM! Colby COLD-COCKS Soldier #3, taking him out as Don andDavid swarm Soldier #4, quickly driving him to the ground,gun to his face.

DONDont move, you hear me? Not a

muscle!

Megan emerges from behind the table with Warner, Verano andan anxious Tabakian.

TABAKIANWe had a deal. You gotta protect

me!

Don leans in on the two Gang Soldiers --

DONHow many more? How many are there?

The Soldiers only glare back. Theyre not going to answer.David grabs them, starts cuffing them as --


(CONTINUED)


61/65

DAVIDWe need to get out of this room.Its too tough to defend...

DONAlright. Lets make a move.

As Warner passes, Don pulls his back-up pistol from itsholster, holds it out to her. As she takes it...

INT. FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER - OUTSIDE ATTORNEY ROOM53 53

David and Colby exit the Attorney Room first, guns ready,checking to make sure the area is clear.

COLBYAlright. Its clear, lets go.

They move forward. Don, Megan and Warner, closely escortingVerano and Tabakian.

MEGANStay tight together. If we sayget down, drop as fast as youcan.

DON(to Colby and David)

Once we get to the end of the hall, make a right. Theres a guard

station there. We can secure themand probably gain reinforcements...

Just then, AUTOMATIC WEAPONS FIRE as Soldiers #1 and #2 burstfrom the stairwell. Don grabs Verano as --

Megan turns, takes Soldier #1 out, but not before he gets offa shot that hits Tabakian. Tabakian goes down...

Warner reacts, moves to cover Tabakian... opening herself upto Soldier #2...

DONLiz!

Soldier #2 has her in his sights... until Don lunges,tackling her out of the way...

Colby and David fire on Soldier #2, taking him out... Theyapproach the downed Soldiers, kick their weapons away...

Suddenly, POUNDING FOOTSTEPS from the direction they came...


(CONTINUED)


62/65


63/65

WARNERI gotta go too. Gonna ride alongto the hospital. Then I wanna gethim out of town before they have achance to try again.

She pats Don gently on the chest... then turns and climbsinto the ambulance. Off Don --

INT. EPPES HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT55 55

Alan and Charlie in the living room, each sitting in a chairreading. The door opens. Don enters, surprised to see them.

DONWhat is it with you two and stayingup all night?

ALANCharlie told me what happenedtonight. We were worried.

CHARLIEDad was worried. I just waited upso I could savor an I told you so

moment while it was still fresh.

DONDidnt we cover this at my office?

CHARLIE(playing)

Did we? There was a lot going on.Accusations about my math being

wrong...

DON(rising above it)

Alright, Charlie, if thats whatyou need, fire away. Say it.

CHARLIEI told you so.

ALANAlright. Thats about as muchbrotherly love as I can take. Imgoing to bed.

CHARLIEYeah, I should probably hit it too.


(CONTINUED)


64/65

They turn to go. Don calls after them --

DONBefore you do...

(as they stop, turn)This thing with you guys, and who

Im dating and not dating...CHARLIE

Look, Don, were sorry--

DON(interrupting, blunt)

Robin broke up with me. Last week,before all this other stuff...

CHARLIEYou got dumped?

DONI didnt get dumped.

ALANDonny, Im sorry. What happened?

DONJust because I was ready to thinkabout being in a more seriousrelationship, doesnt mean she

was... Its just not what she waslooking for right now.

CHARLIEWell. Maybe shell change her

mind.

DON(not believing it)

Maybe...

A beat. Alan suddenly dons a smile.

ALANBut this is a good sign though...

(off their confusion)Donny, you werent the one whopulled the plug. You were willingto stick it out, try and have arelationship. Thats a step in theright direction, isnt it?


(CONTINUED)


65/65

DON(shrugs, then)

Why dont you guys go on to bed...

Don turns, picks up the remote, turns on the TV. Alan eyeshim a moment, then, coming back in --

ALANYou know, Im not really thattired. Theres gotta be somethinggood on. Late nights when theyplay all the classics...

CHARLIEIf were staying up, Im poppingsome popcorn...

DONYou guys, you dont have to dothis?

ALANDo what?

CHARLIEYeah, whatre you talking about?

DONGo to bed, seriously.

ALANHey, you dont even live here. Whoare you to start telling us what todo?

Alan settles down into a chair. Charlie heads into thekitchen. Don sighs, sits down.

DON(to Alan)

Thanks.

ALANDont mention it.

On Alan and Don --


NUMB3RS 3x07 - Blackout

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