Arlington Road (1999)

Come on.
Do it, chicken.
Do it.
Go on. Do it.
Go on. Hurry up.
Are you chicken, or what?
Look out!
Kid?
Hey, kid.
What happened?
Help! Somebody help!
Hold on, now.
You're gonna be all right.
Almost there.
Come on !
- Hello, is this the emergency room?
- Yes, sir.
- I'm bringing a child in.
- What is your emergency?
I don't know!
I'm bringing a child in!
Can you tell me the nature
of your emergency?
Help!
Help him!
- Let's get a cold package, stat!
- Let me have the boy!
To the burn unit!
It's okay now, sir.
Put him in ER 8.
Sir, you have to stay with me now.
- Are you the boy's father?
- No.
He was just--
He was walking down
the middle of the road.
Have you seen him before?
What's his name?
- Sir, please. It's important.
- What? What?
- The boy's name!
- I don't know his name!
Excuse me, Mr. Faraday?
Yeah?
We're Brady's parents.
You feel like they're old enough.
- They should be able to--
- Can't let them out of your sight.
I mean, he said he was going
to the park to play.
He didn't want us to know
what he was doing.
Michael, we can't thank you enough.
If you hadn't come along when you did--
No, I'm just glad we made it.
So, uh...
what, uh--
He and his friends got together
all their fireworks--
their cones and their candles--
and they tied them up together.
They were trying to blast
some kind of super rocket in the park.
And Brady's the one who--
He must've been the one
that set it off.
The other kids must've
put him up to it.
And it was just starting
to feel like home too.
I thought that to myself today.
Just thought it's starting
to feel like home.
He's gonna be okay.
He's gonna be all right.
Thank you, Michael.
Unit 14, clear.
Oh, God.
It's gotta be hell
they're going through.
Two months they've lived there.
I haven't said one word to 'em.
Well, you can't be
best friends with everybody.
I watch them fixin' up their house,
their kids playin' in their yard.
I held their son in my arms
hangin' on for his life tonight.
Kid lives right across the street.
I didn't even know his name.
Did he die?
No, he's gonna be in the hospital
for a while, but he'll be fine.
I saw the blood in the street.
He's gonna be okay, Grant.
Brooke said that she made you
some dinner. You're not hungry?
Want me to fix you something?
Grant?
- She gonna stay here every night?
- No, not every night.
She stayed last night
because I asked her.
We talked about Brooke.
You said you liked her.
I liked her better before.
Yeah, well...
Try to get some sleep, okay?
Love you.
The name of this course
is American Terrorism.
Two hundred years ago, we fought
a revolution over certain beliefs--
Liberty, justice for all,
self-rule and self-reliance.
There are many in this country
who feel we have not yet won that war.
Terrorist acts,
violent political theater--
These have been a part of social dissent
in this country since its inception.
But why?
Why here in this land of freedom?
What's led men to such bloodshed...
in the name of their beliefs?
Why in this era
of national prosperity...
has the antigovernment movement
been at its peak?
And what's that gonna mean
when the prosperity fades?
Fewer and fewer of us are voting.
More and more of us are joining
the ranks of a resistance.
How long are we gonna call
these numbers insignificant?
What do they have to teach us?
- I'm going to go explore.
- Okay.
The only woman I ever liked havin'
around that was smarter than me.
Whit Carver, generous to a fault.
Good day, Mr. Faraday.
- How's he doin'?
- He's all right.
We're still seeing his counselor.
She says he's improving,
but he still keeps to himself a lot.
How's his dad doin'?
He's all right.
Still seeing his graduate student?
Yeah. She says
he's improving, but--
He still keeps to himself
a lot, huh?
This kid they got me
partnered with...
is a walking, laptop computer,
cyberspace geek.
Put him across from some real bad guys,
it's like he's surprised to see 'em.
- I ought to make him take your course.
- Really?
- Teachin' it again?
- Oh, yeah.
She'd like that.
I know what that would mean to her.
The invitation's still good
for you to come by as a guest.
I'd rather not stand trial
in front of you.
- That's not what it would be.
- Yeah, right. I know what it would be.
How's work?
You know, we're a team.
That's what I miss, you know?
Conversations about work.
I'd tell her all about my day.
She couldn't tell me
a goddamn thing.
You wouldn't think I'd miss that,
but I do.
Have me over to dinner sometime.
I'll keep some state secrets from you.
- It'll be like she never left.
- People remember her, Whit?
- What do you mean?
- At the Bureau.
Do they remember,
or do people forget?
They remember her, Michael.
They do.
Leah died for her country.
She shouldn't have.
Michael, hello! How are you doing?
Our other guest of honor. Come in.
- Hope we're not late.
- No. Oliver, Michael's here.
- Cheryl, this is Brooke.
- Hi, it's nice to meet you.
It's really nice to meet you too.
And this must be Grant.
How are you doing?
There's junk food in the kitchen that's
just for kids and not for grownups.
- Come on in.
- Let me introduce you to some friends.
- Hot dog, please.
- Brady's looking great.
Yeah, so would you if you found a way
to get out of school for a while.
You're right, I would.
I teach at G.W.-- American history.
I was always bad in history.
- Condemned to repeat it?
- Yeah, several times.
So, what kind of work do you do?
I'm a structural engineer.
You know the Reston Mall?
- Oh, yeah.
- We're redesigning the addition.
You want bigger storage, more parking?
I'm the guy to ask.
He knows. I'm not sure he totally
understands what happened.
You know Michael from--
I was Michael's teaching assistant
in my first year of grad school.
There was nothing between us.
I knew his family.
I knew Leah.
I mean, this thing,
this is kind of--
kind of new between us.
Wow.
You're so sweet together.
of course,
I think the world of him.
He's such a good man.
Such a good father.
The job was just
too appealing to pass up.
Contracts were down
all over St. Louis.
- How long were you in St. Louis?
- Four years, thereabouts.
I grew up on a tarm
in a place called Carson, Kansas.
Never lived East before.
Kids'll get to see
their first ocean.
Yeah, I'm atraid
downtown's falling apart.
That's what I hear. I guess we're
not in Kansas anymore, eh, Toto?
Hannah.
Bedtime.
- Be careful of his hand!
- I haven't even got two hands!
It's been a long time since
I've seen him just bein' a kid.
Sometimes he's--
You know, since his mother--
He has a tough time
making friends sometimes.
Well...
Lucky we all need friends.
Life just isn't the same
without 'em.
Let me take this in. Dad?
- Yeah?
- How do you spell "restricted"?
Restricted. R-E-S-T-R-l--
You know how to use the dictionary.
What are you guys doin' in there?
Building a compound.
- Compound?
- Soldiers' compound.
Stop, Dad.
You have to know
the secret handshake.
Should we tell him?
All right. Well...
just so I know you're not gonna
use any fireworks in there, Brady.
General Brady, Dad.
Yeah?
No fireworks, General Brady.
That's classified information.
You don't know the secret handshake.
- I'm serious, Brady.
- Come on, Grant.
Get washed up, guys.
We're gonna get dinner on.
- Come on in.
- Got something for you in my mailbox.
What's that?
"University of Pennsylvania"?
-I thought you hadn't lived East before.
-I haven't.
I went to Kansas State, class of '78.
Must have me mixed up with someone else.
- Same class, huh?
- Yeah, but at K State.
It's a reunion.
Must've lost track of some guy,
sent it to me instead.
Sorry about the mess. Cheryl and the
girls are at a church group tonight.
I'm trying to catch up
on a little work.
- How are ya?
- Good.
- How's Grant?
- He's doin' great.
Excuse me a minute. Hello?
Why don't I call you back?
What do you mean?
Okay.
Well, we should really talk
in person about this.
Yeah.
I could work on this tonight.
Okay. All right.
Listen, hold on a second.
This project is taking forever.
Client can't seem to make up his mind.
- This the Reston Mall?
- Yeah. We're getting it on track.
I'm sorry, I have to--
- We'll see each other this weekend.
- Yes, the Junior Ds.
- Brady keeps talking about it.
- Yeah, he's gonna love it.
He's gonna make more friends
than he'll know what to do with.
They do camp outs, trips.
Give you the house to yourself...
every now and then.
You and Brooke, I mean.
- I thank you, neighbor.
- For what?
For having
a ten-year-old next door.
- What do you know about shopping malls?
- Huh?
Shopping malls. I was over at
the Langs', talking with Oliver.
He had this blueprint on his counter.
He said it was the Reston Mall.
- That's what he's workin' on.
- Yeah, but it wasn't.
- What do you mean?
- I looked.
It was a building.
It wasn't a mall.
- Right, it's an addition.
- No.
It was an office building.
It wasn't stores at all.
Oh, so, it's some other project
that he's working on.
Why would he tell me
it was a mall if it wasn't?
Why would he lie?
When you took engineering in college,
what kind of grades did you get?
I didn't take engineering.
What I saw was an office building.
Fourteen months ago
on a Monday in January...
over 60 federal employees
went to work like they always did...
at the Roosevelt Federal Building
in downtown St. Louis.
Except on that Monday
they didn't come home.
In a truck parked in front...
was hidden 50 pounds
of C-4 plastic explosive.
When it was detonated, it disintegrated
the street side of the building...
obliterating dozens
of government offices...
the building's day care center...
and the St. Louis branch
of the Internal Revenue Service...
which was ultimately determined
to be the target of the attack.
The truck was leased by
this 33-year-old electrician...
Dean Scobee.
Scobee had served some prison time
for tax evasion...
and surveillance videos showed
that he was inside the vehicle...
leaving him among the 63 dead.
Does anyone not remember this?
You all remember the results
of the investigation?
- They said Scobee acted alone.
- One man, no conspirators.
Right?
He cheated the IRS. They caught
him at it, so he blew 'em up.
This is a guy who people
described as average.
Friendly.
He'd been in the army,
but as a radio man.
He had very little experience
with munitions.
His parents considered him
a moderate conservative.
Two weeks prior to this, he received
a pay raise at his electrician's job.
Does that sound like a man who's
on the edge or a man who needed a push?
Huh?
Come on. I don't know.
I'm just asking.
Come on, Professor.
The Feds did this huge investigation.
That's right,
an investigation, I forgot.
Well...
the investigation
didn't satisty me.
Miss O'Neill,
when you first heard the news--
terrorist attack in your own country--
how did that make you feel?
- Come on.
- Well--
What did you feel?
Angry.
Scared and stressed.
- Did you feel safe?
- No.
And then the next day,
when they found Scobee dead...
did you feel some relief?
Did safety return?
The people in that building,
they felt safe...
secure, just like you feel now.
And then an instant later--
In an instant...
they were gone forever.
We needed to have
this man to blame.
We don't want others.
We want one name...
and we want it fast...
because it gives us
our security back.
We can say,
"Here was the one man...
unlike the rest of us.
We named him,
and he's no more.
And his reasons,
they're gone too."
But the truth is,
we don't know his reasons.
We don't know why Scobee did it,
why it came to this.
We can pretend we do--
the ten grand in taxes--
but we don't know...
and we'll never know.
And still, we feel safe...
because we know his name.
As God is my witness...
I promise to give...
friendship to those in need.
Help to those in trouble.
I will work with faith and honor...
to uphold the Discoverer code.
To respect myself...
my family...
and my country.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome
Junior Discovery Troop 474.
This is Oliver's study...
where he, you know,
gets away from the kids...
and me, I suppose.
These are all projects
you've worked on?
I wish.
No, I collect sketches...
blueprints,
designs of old buildings.
This is a front view of Monticello.
- Down there is the Woolworth Building.
- It's his hobby.
- The St. Louis Arch.
- Yes, correct.
So, then all of these drawings,
these buildings...
they're not just
for your job, then?
Oh. So they're not
all shopping malls.
No, I don't know of any architecturally
significant shopping malls.
Oh, honey, you just
haven't built them yet.
- Who's hungry?
- I'm famished.
Come on. I've got some
really delicious putt pastry.
They've got to work so hard
when they're there.
You've gotta keep 'em
in the seats.
You know?
Politically, there's something
to be said for that.
Yeah, it was a lot of fun.
Here we are leaving the church.
Everyone thought we were
going to Mexico.
- Where were you going?
- We were going there...
but the plane
never left the ground.
Some kind of engine trouble.
Couldn't leave till morning, so we spent
the night at the Wichita Airport Motel.
How romantic!
- Well, for $19, it was wonderful.
- How long you two been married?
- Well, 12 years in August.
- What kind of example is that?
Well, I don't think we learn
responsibility from politicians.
We really learn it from family.
It's the people that we care about.
- It's what they care about.
- He died when I was a teenager.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Farm accident.
-Where would you say you get yours from?
-My what? My values?
- Probably from my wife.
- Values?
What values?
Michael and I were talking about
where you get your values from...
and we were both saying
it's mostly from family.
Well, where else you gonna get 'em?
Celebrities? Politicians?
Not in this century.
I just think it's...
a sorry state of affairs when you can't
find a role model to cast your vote for.
It's not even role models,
necessarily.
It's just people who acknowledge
the consequences of their actions.
Or pay for those actions. I think we
should put some politicians in jail.
You can't ask government
to be intallible.
You just can't.
But you can ask it to be accountable.
I can ask it to be honest.
You know, when Leah died...
all I wanted was someone...
to tell me,
"We made a mistake."
You know?
"We made a mistake.
Your wife suffered for it...
and we'd take it back
a hundred times if we could."
But, uh...
they don't say that.
She would've.
Some of them knew her.
They work so hard at being able
to look you in the eye.
Excuse me.
Leave him alone.
He's fine.
Sorry.
- I see how much you miss her.
- There are just these times...
when you realize how much
your own life is out of your hands.
What are you gonna do?
I guess you can have faith.
Try to make a difference
while you can with Grant...
to your classes.
What about you?
Got my family...
and the buildings I leave behind.
That's it.
Get your shoulder up
a little bit, okay?
Step into it. Watch that ball
until it hits the bat.
That's it!
You want some Crackerjack?
You sure? Popcorn and caramel.
It builds your muscles.
All right.
Hey, atta way, Faraday.
- He's gettin' some confidence.
- He's a strong kid.
- He's been dealt some hard breaks.
- Atta way to swing.
- You give him strength.
- I'm tryin'.
You do.
Gettin' on with your life.
That's important for him to see.
He just wishes someone had to pay.
What?
For his mother.
He wishes someone had to pay.
He's talked to you about her?
Our people send her in with
the wrong information then say...
"Hey, not my fault."
I can't live with that...
for you,
let alone a nine-year-old boy.
Grant talked to you
about his mother?
Well, yeah.
I hope that's all right.
We talk about a lot of things.
He's a smart kid.
Way to go, Grant.
We're never more wise
than when we're children.
They say it, and it's true.
We'll never see things
that clear again.
Let me have a hit.
Come on, now, it's dinnertime.
Wash your hands.
- I'm eating with Brady.
- No, come on, now.
Michael, I'm sorry.
Brady invited him over for dinner.
- I thought he'd asked you.
- Can I eat with Brady, Dad?
Okay, if his dad
says it's all right.
Is it all right, kids?
I can fly!
- Good afternoon, U Penn.
- Transcript office, please.
-Transcripts.
-I'm calling from Washington University.
We have a student who's applying for
graduate work in our history department.
I need to verify his
undergrad record with you guys.
He's been out of school
for some time.
The name's Oliver Lang.
Are you telling me that you
took this out of his mailbox?
- That is illegal.
- Tell me if you think this is strange.
The University of Pennsylvania
keeps sending him alumni stuff...
for a 20-year reunion.
He says he went to Kansas State. They
have him mixed up with someone else.
So I call Penn.
I get that guy's transcripts.
- What? Why? Michael! Oh, my God!
- Listen to me.
That guy has a completely
different physical description.
- He never took a class in engineering.
- Right...
because they've got him mixed up
with somebody else.
This U Penn Oliver
is the same age as Oliver.
- Wait. As our Oliver?
- As our Oliver, yes.
He graduated the same year, and...
he comes from Carson, Kansas,
Oliver's hometown.
Wait, I'm totally lost. You just said
that they're two different people.
Yeah. Two people the same age
from the same small town!
I looked it up.
It's a small town!
Yeah, so what?
Brooke, don't you think they would've
heard of each other, these guys?
You know, growing up?
Gotten mixed up before?
Oliver didn't say anything like that.
He just threw the letter away.
- Well, wait a minute.
- So--
There could be ten other Michael
Faradays in Northern Virginia.
- You would never know that.
- So I called Kansas State.
Here's what I'm saying.
Kansas State University...
had no Oliver Lang on record,
from that year or any year.
So either he didn't really
go to that school...
or that's not his real name.
Can I ask you something? Did you
do this to me when we started dating?
- What?
- Call up my ex-boyfriends...
and get my transcripts sent over?
You've got to admit,
there's something not right here.
No, this isn't right.
You have invaded his privacy.
So maybe he lied about where
he went to college. Big deal.
People lie about things all the time.
You don't have the right to spy on them.
God, you of all people.
Are you teaching the Bill of Rights
this semester...
or did that not make the program?
I don't know what you're doing.
We've made some friends here.
All right?
See you tonight.
Lang.
Shit.
Fenimore.
'Cause you've never been away from
home before. You're nine years old.
Nine and a half.
There'll be grownups there.
The answer is no, Grant.
It's spring vacation.
You said I could go.
Well, now I'm saying
that you can't go, Grant!
Look, maybe you can go
for summer camp or something, okay?
- Brady's going.
- Brady might not be the best kid...
for you to be alone
in the woods with!
- The answer is no!
- He's my best friend.
Look, you want to go to camp, we'll go
to Aunt Ruth's and Uncle Rob's cabin.
- Okay?
- That's a lie!
- No it's not!
- You'll be too busy! You'll forget!
- You and me, we'll go--
- You'll forget you said I could go!
I hate him.
The FBI keeps a file
on every American...
who has ever been
charged with a crime.
Now, certain offenses
cause files to be flagged.
Two years ago, these flags...
picked up a series of
suspicious firearms purchases...
in Maryland, Georgia
and the Carolinas.
Over a hundred guns from...
assault rifles, army issues...
all bought by acquaintances
of Seaver Parsons--
husband, father of three,
amateur gun collector...
outspoken member of
the right-wing extremists...
here in West Virginia.
To the FBI, it appeared Parsons
was stockpiling weapons...
for some sort of offensive.
So they sent four FBI agents...
with a search warrant here...
thinking that they would uncover
some sort of treasure chest...
of felony firearms.
- Munitions for war.
- 2-7 November, we got your eyeball.
Backup's en route.
How you gonna handle this, boss?
The easy way.
Yeah, I heard that.
Hey, there, mister.
You catch yourself some dinner?
Is that your house over there?
Know if your father's home, son?
He don't know you.
- No, son, we're from Washington.
- Here at this fence line...
they encounter Parson's
youngest son, age ten.
They asked him where his father was,
but they neglected--
they failed to first identify
themselves as Federal agents.
Run up and ask your dad to come outside.
We'd like to speak to him.
Okay?
- Cover the house!
- No, stay here!
Move! Go!
Stay!
The kid doesn't know
why we're here!
They're comin'!
Jeb, they're comin'!
They're here!
Ma, they're here!
Cease fire!
Ma!
Go!
Just hold on.
Pinned down,
they returned fire.
Finally,
the reinforcements arrived.
When it was over,
the siege lasted over two hours.
At the end, Parson's
two eldest sons were wounded...
his wife and his youngest boy
were killed.
As for Parsons,
he wasn't even home.
See, the FBI, they thought...
that their people were uncovering
some sort of terrorist plot.
You see? But what their file,
their flags...
did not reveal to them...
was that Seaver Parsons had
come into a family inheritance...
with which he had arranged
the hundred legal firearms...
to be legally purchased.
Nor did it tell them that Parsons
had recently applied...
for a sales license.
Nor did it tell them that Parsons
warned his family...
that some people might want
to steal his collection.
He instructed his sons
and his wife...
and his daughter-in-law...
never to let strangers on
this property while he was away...
and if force be taken,
then to defend with force.
Defend the home!
You know, he had no love
for the Federal Government.
He did have a separatist
and suspicious past.
But this was not a terrorist.
He was not a criminal.
Three innocent people
died that day...
because the flags went up.
The flags were wrong.
Don't just dive in.
I want you to think for yourself.
- I want you to be safe.
- Let go of my hand.
Okay. Hey, look.
I want you to have
a great time, okay?
Listen to your troop master,
all right?
Did Brooke tell you to let me go?
Yes, she did,
as a matter of fact.
She said you're a big guy and you could
handle ten days away. She's right.
When I get back, will she--
Is she gonna take Mom's place?
Nobody is ever gonna
take your mom's place.
Not Brooke, nobody.
Mom is always gonna be with us,
right here...
because we remember her like
nothing could ever take her away.
If Brooke and I ever start thinking
about something like that...
we're gonna talk
to you about it first.
She'll only ever live with us
if Mom says it's okay too.
Okay.
- You have a great time, okay?
- Thanks for camp, Dad.
Have a good one.
All right.
- Thanks, Dad. See ya.
- All right. See ya later.
His name was William Fenimore...
and I'm told he changed it
to Oliver Lang.
It may take me a few moments, sir.
Okay, we do have
a William Fenimore...
of Carson, Kansas,
changed to an Oliver Lang.
Oh, do you know when that was?
October 5, 1981.
Oh, thank you very much.
That's exactly what I was looking for.
State of Kansas,
Department of Records.
Yes, hi. Michael Jones.
I'm with the EEOC in Washington.
I've got a possible name change
I wanted to run by you guys.
I'm looking for an Oliver Lang.
He's out of Carson, Kansas.
Hold on, sir.
Sir, I'm afraid I've got
nothing on any name change...
for an Oliver Lang
of Carson, Kansas.
Okay, just doin' my job.
Thank you.
Sir? Our records indicate
Oliver Lang deceased...
as of October 4, 1981.
- October 4?
- Yes, sir.
What does
the death certificate say?
Cause of death is listed
as gunshot, hunting accident.
You had said you were calling
with whom in Washington?
Thank you.
Just run through this scenario with me.
Theoretically,
why would someone do that?
Do what? Change his name to the name
of a person who died the day before?
Yeah. Someone the same age
from the same hometown.
Why? Would it be to take over
that person's life?
No, that wouldn't work.
When you die, the death certificate
goes both state and federal.
Driver's licenses, Social Security
numbers, they're voided.
-Can't do it to hide the person you are.
-Then why would you do it?
You'd do it to hide
the person you were.
Say you wanted to find out...
a criminal record for your guy
prior to the name change.
- Unless you're a real professional--
- You'd check on the name he has now--
And the records you'd find back then
would be for somebody else entirely.
That's the significance of making
the change right after a person's death.
- No overlap.
- It gives you a whole new history.
It helps the old one disappear.
Is there something you want
to tell me, Michael?
Whit, if I give you a name,
could you run it for flags?
- Jesus!
- Just this once.
Check out files as a personal favor,
is that what you're asking me to do?
- Come on, I'm not--
- You go to jail for that.
- This is important.
- My pension's important.
Whit, I'm asking you to run a name.
I'm not asking you to start surveillance
and break out the goddamn guns.
Faraday, if you'd asked your wife to
do it, she'd tell you the same thing.
Get you classified FBI information.
She'd say,
"I love you, baby, but that...
I cannot do."
If you want to find out about somebody,
there's always ways to do it.
They're just not through me.
Come on. Use your imagination.
Oh, hi, Daphne.
How you doin'?
You doing okay?
- Hi, Hannah.
- Mommy and Daddy aren't home.
Oh, well, actually,
I don't need your mom and dad.
You know what?
I locked myself out of my house.
- I came home from work and realized--
- We can't let strangers in.
Well, I'm not a stranger, right?
See, what I need to do
is use your phone...
to call up somebody to see if
they'll help me get in the house.
Would that be all right...
if I use your phone?
- Kitchen.
- Good.
I'm gonna use the phone
in your dad's study.
- You guys are playin' here.
- That's Dad's study.
I'll just be a sec.
You guys go ahead and play.
Your dad won't mind.
Hello. Yes, I've got a--
a home lockout.
I need your help to get back in.
Faraday, Michael.
No, that's no problem.
I have identification.
- You locked yourself out.
- Scared the shit out of me.
Yeah, I was on the phone...
and the picture was falling--
crooked-- so I--
Yeah, the locksmith guy's comin'.
Good. Did you want to wait here?
I'm just back from the store.
No thanks.
I got a call from Brady today.
He and Grant are having
a wonderful time.
He went on and on about what kind
of bugs they're catching.
I don't know if there's
any kind of badge for that.
Can I offer you something?
No, I've got a--
I should really get back. There's
some papers I can grade while I wait.
But thank you for the call.
Sure.
Thank you, girls.
Our house is your house.
Just a sec.
You forgot your case.
And your phone.
Need to recharge my batteries.
I know the feeling.
- Hey, what are you doing?
- Pretending to wait for a locksmith.
- Right.
- Pretended to be locked out.
Uh-huh.
Why was that again?
I'll explain it to you.
Can we pretend
to have dinner first?
Hi, neighbor.
"Pipe bomb."
"Special state agency."
"William Fenimore Senior."
How's the hunting?
Hey, Oliver.
I was in the city on a project. Went by
your office. They said check here.
- Got some research goin'?
- Yeah, the '70s--
- Is that The Kansas City Star?
- Yeah.
- That's the paper I read growin' up.
- It's for a lecture course.
I got a class...
that deals with extremist groups.
You know, American history.
Background on state militias.
There's one in Kansas.
Seems they got one everywhere.
Jeez, I didn't know you taught
a course in terrorism.
- That a pretty frightening subject.
- Yeah.
- You got time for a drink?
- No, today's not good.
Yeah, I hear ya.
I got a building contract...
that's kickin' my butt
tryin' to put it together.
Get back to work.
Sorry to drop by.
Catch you back at the ranch.
Good to see you.
Will you just hear me out?
Hear what I'm saying?
The guy changed his name, Brooke.
Why?
To help hide his background.
Why? Because there's something in it.
Yeah, something that's
not your business.
When he was 16 years old,
he tried to blow up some offices.
Read the paper! A government agency
that was cheating his father's farm.
He served time
in a juvenile program.
Pipe bomb as a kid.
Why would you
go to these lengths...
to hide that part of your history
if it wasn't an isolated event?
If you thought you might
try it again someday?
It says it didn't even go off.
He was a kid.
Brady practically killed himself
with a bunch of fireworks in March.
Come on! Where do you think
Brady gets an idea like that?
What are you saying?
I'm saying that he's gone to these
great lengths to hide his past.
I'm saying that he was in St. Louis
when the federal building was bombed.
And I'm saying that there is
a blueprint in his house...
that he does not want me to see!
- Are you listening to yourself?
- Are you listening to me?
- Your neighbor?
- Yes!
Is a terrorist?
He's been blowing up buildings?
There's something going on over there.
Something is being planned.
Something's being planned?
Yeah, and in his spare time...
hey pays the mortgage
and takes his kid to camp.
- That house is not normal.
- That house is normal!
Remember when we were over there
the other night?
- Him discussing politics?
- Yeah, we disagree about politics.
And Washington?
And Leah?
- Do you remember this?
- Oh, my--
The guy is testing me.
He wants to see
if I'm an enemy or an ally.
You are the one who brought up Leah.
Is that what this is about?
No, it's not about Leah!
You know, this class...
that you slave over...
to carry on Leah's work,
to have something in her memory?
You know,
plots and conspiracies...
and red flags going up.
Yeah, this is Leah's world now.
I'm--
I can't.
Listen, I know...
that he's changed his name--
- Stop it, for me.
- He lived in St Louis...
when the bombs were goin' off.
He's working on this building
that he doesn't want me to see.
I don't think
I can stay here tonight.
I'm not staying.
Never did like that picture.
You know me, Michael?
You think you know me?
Yeah, you know me better
than I know myself, don't you?
Kansas City Star.
I saw you.
You wanna tell me something
I don't know?
- I know what I read.
- You know a 16-year-old kid.
You don't know me.
You know a kid at 16.
Damn you!
You've been a guest in my house!
You're a guest in mine, Fenimore.
Bill, Will, William--
What do I call you?
Who the hell do you think you are
judging me? What gives you the right?
You ever worked on a farm?
Make your living,
support your family?
The government stole my father's water--
a stream running through our land.
Said they were appropriating it
for other uses.
We couldn't grow crops,
we couldn't raise cattle.
We had loans we couldn't pay.
My father woke up one mornin'...
and he realized
he was worth more dead than alive.
His skin and bones...
were worth more
in insurance money...
than as a damn farmer.
I found his tractor...
at the bottom ot the bluffs
behind our house.
He made it look like an accident.
I found his body.
And the note?
He wrote it to me.
Insurance money paid off
what Mom could...
but it wasn't enough.
Neighbors--
Neighbors took our land at auction.
All because some bureaucrat
stuck a pin in a map...
in some creek in the middle of Kansas,
said we couldn't use our own water.
Doesn't give you the right
to build a bomb.
I was sixteen.
Sixteen!
You ever do anything wrong
when you were 16?
You ever crash your car?
You ever, uh, steal anything?
You ever screw the wrong girl?
You gonna tell your kid everything
you did when you were 16?
The lies you told?
The drugs you took?
I've been judged for this!
I got sent away for it, and it was
the best thing that ever happened to me.
The best thing.
Who's Oliver?
He was my best friend growin' up.
He died when we were both 25.
I did it to honor him...
to carry on his name.
And to hide.
Yeah, to hide.
I didn't want any son I had
knowing what I did.
I didn't want my kids
to be burdened...
with people looking through
old newspapers.
I'm not proud of this.
This isn't pride.
I wish it never happened.
You know, I wish to God...
that my family could have...
my father's good name.
You know, you have a right
to know who lives next door...
who talks to your kid,
who considers himself your friend.
But you also have the right--
If you have a problem with me,
if you have issues with me...
you could have the decency
to walk across the street...
and tell me to my face.
Hi, this is Michael.
Leave a message.
It's me. Listen.
I think you're right.
I saw Oliver...
at the mall in the garage.
He switched cars with somebody,
and I followed him...
to this warehouse delivery place.
They were unloading
these long, metal boxes.
I want to talk to you.
I'm coming over, okay?
I knew it was you.
What are you doing here?
Just shopping.
What are you doing here?
Shopping.
Great.
Yeah.
They say a man was shot several times
while driving along 19th street.
The car struck several other vehicles
before slamming into a tree.
The victim was pronounced
dead at the scene.
Elsewhere, a single-car accident
near Reston is tying up...
evening traffic on westbound
Route 7 at this hour.
Details are sketchy at this point.
What we can tell you...
from our overhead shot is that
the accident took place...
near the Pine Glenn Outlet Center.
No other vehicles appear to be
involved in what police say...
is a fatal crash.
We'll have more information for you
when it becomes available.
The driver of the car, described
as a woman in her mid-20s...
has been pronounced dead
at the scene.
Police say it appears she lost control
of the light blue 1989 Mustang...
and crashed through a guardrail
along the ravine.
Investigators believe
she was killed upon impact--
Sir, you can't go down there.
Sir, you can't come down here.
- You can't go down there.
- Where is she?
- She's gone sir. Been taken away.
- Where?
- She's gone.
- Where?
I'm sorry.
Hey, General,
how you holding up?
You wouldn't believe it!
It's so cool.
We went swimming and climbing, and
one night there was a lightning storm.
- We had to stay in a motel!
- You did?
I learned how to make campfires,
and there's lots of knives.
- Me and Brady can tell animal tracks.
- That's terrific.
I've gotta go.
Troop Master's calling us.
- We're doing a hike!
- Okay. Grant?
I'll see you in a couple of days.
I love you.
- I gotta go!
- Grant?
It's better to tell him
when he gets back.
Thanks for coming to get me.
If there's anything you need...
we're here.
No, I won't.
I'll be fine.
Don't let yourself-- I mean, sometimes
it's better not to be alone...
when you don't have to be.
She was a good person.
Kind, kind girl.
You know, if I--
If I haven't been myself
these past few weeks--
I'm sorry, for everything.
She liked you...
and your family very much.
We're here for you.
We really are.
- Hello?
- Michael, it's Whit.
Haven't heard back from you, man.
My girlfriend, Brooke,
was killed Friday.
- Oh, God. No.
- Yeah.
Can I talk to you later?
Yeah, sure, whenever.
I'm here at the office.
Thanks.
- Agent Carver.
- Whit?
What did you mean,
you haven't heard back from me?
The message I left on Friday.
I understand now.
- It's all right.
- What message?
Well, the one about
speaking to your class.
I thought with some ground rules,
we could set some things straight.
Wait, wait, wait.
You called me Friday?
- You left a message?
- Yeah, at the house.
When did you call?
I don't know.
Around 4:00 or 5:00, maybe, on Friday.
I didn't have any messages.
For Christ's sakes,
you just found out about Brooke.
No, I didn't have any messages.
I'll call you back.
Whit, listen to me.
I know you can't do anything for me
or get me information...
but I can give you information.
The other day when I was talking about
somebody trying to hide their history?
I was talking about my neighbor.
Oliver Lang-- that's his name.
He used to be--
It used to be William Fenimore. Run it
through your system, see what you got.
- Oliver Lang. You writing this down?
- All right, slow down.
This guy has a history, damn it!
Will you run the name?
- Wait. What's he done?
- If I'm right...
there are other people who called
my house that day, not just you.
Find out. You can do that.
Please.
- I'll call you when I get back.
- Where the hell are you going?
To get you proof.
Run the name, Whit.
Was it hard to find me?
You've moved several times.
Your wife said that--
Your ex-wife said--
People know whose father I am.
Mister, I've been through
all this before.
The government, the police...
and writers.
People wanted to believe
it was political...
some conspiracy, some group.
Happy and I did too.
Dean was not a strong boy.
He was impressionable...
believed what friends
around him said.
Well, why couldn't he be involved...
with people who could set him up...
talk him into even this?
The FBI, the police,
found nothing.
It was him alone.
They decided this.
Sixty-three dead...
over taxes.
Dean alone.
You don't believe that, do you?
I've never believed that.
Have you heard the name
Oliver Lang or William Fenimore?
I've heard too many names.
Your son, Dean, was an electrician.
Maybe he was contracted for...
or he worked on a project--
All of this
was investigated, mister!
His neighbors, his customers...
kids he grew up with
months ago.
Dr. Scobee, I'm sorry
for bringing this all back.
It never goes away.
I had to come here.
You've got to understand.
I think I know a man
who knew your son.
He's 41, a structural engineer.
He's got a wife, three kids.
He has this--
May I ask what makes you so sure...
that this man of yours had anything
to do with what happened here?
For the same reason you're sure
your son didn't do it alone!
I know my son was not alone,
because 10 children died that day!
The day care center in the Roosevelt,
he had to know it was there.
My son would never have done
anything to harm children.
Your son didn't have any children.
No!
But he did things for them.
He sponsored boys
from city shelters.
Discoverer Troops. He coached
boys' football when he had time.
Wait. Discoverer Troops?
They're like Boy Scouts,
but for young children.
He was a grown-up chaperone.
He'd take them camping,
go to their meetings.
Teach them.
There he is.
It must have been
on some weekend adventure.
Dean was best with children.
Airport.
Faraday, Grant Faraday.
I'll be there in a tew hours.
Don't let him go anywhere.
I'm coming. Tell him I'm coming.
I'm here to pick up my son.
I called earlier this afternoon.
- My son!
- What was that troop, sir?
Troop? I don't know what troop.
He's from Reston.
Grant Faraday.
- Where's my son?
- Faraday.
He was taken home
this atternoon, sir.
- No.
- His father called.
No, no, wait.
I'm his father. I called.
But you called twice, sir.
You said that there had been
an accident at home?
- A car accident?
- No!
You asked to speak
with his troop master, sir.
I'm his goddamn father!
That wasn't me.
Here it is, sir.
He was driven home.
- By who?
- His troop master, sir.
- He and another boy.
- What other boy?
Lang, Brady Lang.
The troop master left
with both of them.
You're doing it again. I thought
I told you to come to me...
- if there's something you wanna know.
- Where's my son?
He's with mine. They're safe.
Can I get you something?
- I saved his life!
- Some punch? What's that?
- Your son, I saved his life!
- Yes, yes.
And that's why
you're still here with us.
- And Brooke?
- Brooke got in the way.
We're on a schedule.
It's nothing personal.
What the hell have you done
with my son?
If you want to be his father,
you'll walk to your house...
sleep in your bed,
teach your classes and live your life.
What are you telling me?
How many people are you gonna kill?
Well, if I see
any strange cars on my street...
if you feel compelled to talk
to anyone-- a federal agent, perhaps--
then I imagine
we're just gonna kill one.
He's nine years old.
When will he be ten?
He's a good kid.
A strong kid.
Reminds me of a boy I grew up with.
Maybe you've heard of him.
Oliver Lang?
I found him in the woods one day.
I would hate for Grant
to see the same for you.
- You sick fuck!
- You're the sick fuck!
I promise you, Michael.
If you stay a good neighbor,
and you are a good a neighbor...
you'll have him back.
But if you don't calm down, I don't know
that I can guarantee his safety.
- This will all be over in a few days.
- When?
- You're not in any danger.
- When? Tell me.
Please.
Because of you, my son is alive.
I would like very much
to return the favor.
Now...
we're having a party.
You're more than welcome to stay.
You're a hard man to find.
What are you, uh--
Your assistant told me you've been
taking long walks between classes.
Yeah, I can't talk to you now.
No? Can you talk to me ever?
You look like shit.
What's going on?
- I'm here about Oliver Lang.
- I gotta get to my class.
Well, how about
you teach me something?
Oliver Lang,
formerly William Fenimore.
We gave him a good look
atter the St. Louis thing.
Everybody who ever used a bomb
got a good look.
His name change was legal.
We ran his social security number
through the National Crime Center.
Not a mark on his record ever since.
Him and everyone he knew came up clean.
That's what you found out about, huh?
Yeah, that Wichita shit back when
he was 16 got you thinking, huh?
Do you have something new on him
or do you just not like him...
in your neighborhood?
'Cause if this is all you got, then
you need to stop teaching that class...
'cause it's gettin' inside your head.
You tell me you got something
to go on and I'll go...
but I'm not gonna walk into another
Copper Creek, and neither should you.
I got nothing.
I'm sorry.
All right. Look.
I ran those phone records,
like you asked.
Could've meant my job,
but I did it.
Two telephone calls that Friday--
one from me...
and another from a pay phone
out Route 180, Pine Glenn Outlets.
Pine Glenn?
A telephone call from your neighbor.
Nothing.
Talk to me, Michael.
What's going on?
Talk to me.
Give up the goddamn class.
I'd like to rent a car
tomorrow morning.
How early could I pick that up?
Michael Faraday.
Oliver Lang, please.
Mr. Lang is out of the office.
Would you like to leave a message?
I need to reach him.
This is a business emergency.
Mr. Lang isn't expected in this morning.
- I'll call back. Thanks.
- Is there something else--
No.
Hey, neighbor, you all right?
What you doin' on this side of town?
Had to know, didn't ya?
Had to know.
Couldn't leave your neighbor alone.
Didn't you check up on me?
Didn't you?
Did you really think
we'd leave anything to chance?
Fifty-one.
I've got your shadow.
Go ahead. We're still on schedule.
- You gonna miss your son, Michael?
- Please.
You've given me no choice!
You think I wanted this?
I told you you were gonna get him back!
How am I gonna do that now?
How am I gonna trust you now?
Where are you taking him?
Where's the bomb?
I'm a messenger, Michael.
I'm a messenger!
There's millions of us,
waiting to take up arms...
ready to spread the word.
Millions of us!
The government's
not who you're killing!
Yes, yes, they'll pay.
They'll pay for their sins...
- You're killing children!
- Their lies, their children.
- Children die!
- This is war.
In a war, children die.
- You're with us!
- No!
Liberty Two, status.
Status one, go.
That's what you stand for.
You tell them you stand for
blowing up families...
for orphan sons.
Your father really kill himself,
you son of a bitch?
Or is that just one of your
goddamn stories?
- Call it off!
- It's for you, Michael.
- It's for all of us.
- It's not for me. Call it off!
Are you happy in your godless,
suburban life?
Call off the bomb!
Call off the fuckin' bomb!
They sent your wife
to her death.
Surely you won't be sorry
to see them go.
You're too late!
Let's get it done.
- Agent Carver.
- Listen to me.
There's a bomb on its way
to your offices. Get everybody out!
- What's going on?
- It's in a white van.
A Liberty Delivery Van.
Grant's in there.
They want the FBI this time!
Michael, you're breaking up!
Whit? Shit!
Come on !
Security, main gate.
Out of the way!
That's the van!
Stop it!
- Stop the van!
- Sir, step out of the vehicle!
- There's a bomb in the van!
- Step out of the vehicle!
- It's got a goddamn bomb!
- Michael, wait!
That's the van!
There's a bomb in there!
- That van was authorized.
- That's the van! Grant's inside!
It's the noon delivery.
Grant's in there!
It's got a goddamn bomb!
Hold your fire!
- Don't shoot!
- In the van!
Get everyone out of the building!
There's a bomb in the van !
- Get him out of the building.
- Check the goddamn van.
We gotta get everybody out of here.
There's a bomb.
- It's in there.
- Easy.
Wait! That's--
That's not the man.
- All right.
- Grant!
Let him go.
I said, let him go!
- Back off!
- The van's clean.
There's nothing in here.
Go ahead, Michael.
Michael, it's all clear.
The guy's authorized to be here.
We're all authorized to be here.
Everyone except you.
All right? Come on.
It's all right.
Hey, guys!
Stand by.
Everyone except you.
Boom.
Right now, I'm sort of breathless.
I've just gotten here,
and there are people lying--
It looks just like a war zone!
Officials at this point believe
a bomb went off.
They're not sure
which floor, how big.
Obviously, it was massive
to create the kind of devastation--
Preliminary reports indicate
the bombing was the work...
of this man, Michael Faraday
of Reston, Virginia.
A professor of history
at George Washington University--
Officials will not confirm reports
that the bombing had anything to do...
with the death of Mr. Faraday's wife,
who had been an FBI agent.
Students and colleagues both say...
that Farady's behavior was increasingly
erratic in the weeks leading up--
He was really intense, you know?
Knew all about these terrorists--
how they worked, what they wanted.
He was really into it.
It was my favorite class.
We went to this field trip once.
It was Copper Creek.
He practically broke down and started
crying, something about his wife.
We all sort of knew about it, but
he never really wanted to talk about it.
Faraday reportedly blamed the Bureau
for its role in his wife's death...
almost three years ago.
Specifically, sources
speculate his target...
may have been Agent Whit Carver, one of
the 184 people to perish in the attack.
Carver was a partner
of Faraday's wife at Copper Creek...
and Faraday
may have held him responsible.
All I know is what he told me
in his office one day after class.
I'll never forget that.
He said, "Sweetheart...
one day those men are going to pay.
One day those men
are going to burn."
Yet all of them described Faraday
as solitary but friendly...
as a talented professor fascinated
by the American underground...
and as a loving father
to his ten-year-old son...
who is now in the care of relatives.
And so after exhausting hundreds
of thousands of man-hours and leads...
federal investigators are finally
ready to say...
that just as in the St. Louis
IRS bombing nearly two years ago...
this spring's attack on the FBI...
the worst terrorist strike
in our nation's history...
was the work of one man
and one man alone.
Any news yet?
No. They'll let us know.
Someplace nice.
I hope.
Someplace safe.
Always.