All language subtitles for Nowhere Man - S01E24 - Marathon

My name is Thomas Vail.

Or at least it was. I'm a
photographer. I had it all. A wife, Allison.

Friends, a career.

And in one moment, it was all taken away.

All because of a single photograph.

I have it. They want it.

And they will do
anything to get the negative.

I'm keeping this diary as
proof that these events are real.

I know they are.

They have to be.

When the people you
love have betrayed you,

and you can no longer distinguish
between what's real and what's not,

You begin to see the
entire world in a new light.

Even the simplest
objects take on a new meaning.

Hey, experience some change, man?

A pack of matches, a cigarette, a man
trying to warm himself from the cold.

A single strip of film.

Thanks a lot.

God bless you, man.

Just when I began to accept the
ultimate meaninglessness of Hidden Agenda,

I found new meaning in the negatives.

There was a small section of
negative from the picture right before

Hidden Agenda that I hadn't seen
before in any printed photograph.

The arm and shoulder of a
man using a field radio.

The radio itself seemed normal, but as
I continued to enlarge this section,

the frequency code stood out.

I thought you said you were an amateur.

I am an amateur, believe me.

Yeah? How'd you stumble onto this?

These numbers appeared in a photograph
I took, and I had nothing better to do,

so I just thought I'd check
it out. It's not a big deal.

This is a restricted frequency.

FCC keeps it clear for
strategic air-to-ground communications.

I'm a novice, remember?

Reconnaissance planes, Air Force One,

generally things they
don't want us to know about.

So you have any way of
accessing this frequency?

Efficiency.

I told you, man, this
frequency doesn't even exist.

It's a buffer zone
between other secure channels,

and we could sit here for another
four hours and not hear a thing.

Alpha Minor, 4,000 feet,
passing Ice Station 17.

What the hell is this?

Yeah.

What the hell's that?

There's a trespass detection
system built into this frequency.

They must be using some
kind of satellite jamming

technology. Start pulling the plugs.

Which ones?

Only one you can find. We've got
to shut this whole thing down.

There were two heritage
houses in the greater DC area.

One was a furniture store, the
other some kind of research company.

I decided to check out
the research company first.

On the outside, it seemed like
just another quiet brownstone.

I'll let him know.

Hi.

Can I help you?

I don't know. I was just walking
by outside, and I saw your sign.

You're from Georgetown, right?

Why do you say that?

We get a lot of
teachers and students who walk

in here wondering what
kind of research we do.

And the answer is...

Enrollment demographics.

The science should actually
say academic placement research.

All in all, it's pretty dry stuff.

What's your specialty?

Well, you could say behavioral
disorders, disassociative states.

Sounds fascinating.

Yeah, it has its moments.

Look, would it be possible
for me to use your bathroom?

I'm really not supposed to.

Okay, okay, no problem.

Well, you know, we're closing soon, so
I'll just take you to the bathroom myself.

To the back, myself.

Because, you know, we have
all these time locks and codes,

and they're really a
pain, so... Follow me?

This is an
interestingly designed building.

Yeah, it was like this when we moved in.

I think it belonged to
some kind of government

agency, probably, you
know, by our restaurant.

We're, uh, over here.

Thank you for walking me all the way.

Yeah, I'll, uh...

Besides the front and back doors,
is there another way out of here?

Through the basement.

The basement. Wait, wait, wait, wait.

No, you can't go back in there.

We've got to get you out in the
street where there's more people.

No, I can't. I can't
leave. Come on, come on.

I'm not going to hurt you.
I'm not going to hurt you.

What's your name?

Jenny, Jenny.

Okay, my name's Tom.

Tom Vale.

Listen, it's very important you try and
concentrate on what I'm saying, okay?

Jenny, concentrate. Okay.

Okay.

What did you mean when you
said it's not procedure?

It's really not an
academic research house.

What is it?

What is Heritage House?

It's an FBI operation.

Nobody's supposed to know about it.

He worked for the FBI.

Now, what exactly do you do for the FBI?

I'm just a secretary.

Jenny, you've got to
get a hold of yourself.

I want to help you, but I can't do that.

I can't do that unless you
tell me what's going on.

Now, what are you supposed to do
when something like this happens?

What's procedure?

We're supposed to make a phone call.

There's a... There's a
bureau number that I'm

supposed to remember
for special emergencies.

Well, good, then we'll find a
phone, we'll make that call.

No, it can't be just from anywhere.
It has to be from a specific place.

I'll take you there.

Brenda's my oldest friend. We're
roommates at George Washington.

Well, it still doesn't
mean it's safe here.

No, it's part of the procedure.

We're not supposed to go
back to our own place.

We're not supposed to go to a
husband, wife, or blood relative.

It has to be a place
that's within the active

distance of the operation headquarters.

You're really not a
college professor, are you?

I need to use the phone.
It's kind of an emergency.

What isn't an emergency with you, Jen?

Sorry, hon. The phones
are out in the building.

The super said the repair guy's gonna
be here any minute. They'll be fixed.

If you guys want to wait, that'd be
great. There's beer and juice in the fridge.

Sorry I can't be a better
host, but I'm late for my date.

You just sit down and
catch your breath here.

Drink this down.

So if you aren't a
college professor, who are you?

I'm kind of a journalist. I'm
just investigating a story.

What kind of story?

Well, the usual kind.
Corruption in high places.

Conspiracy to cover up the truth.

And you think Heritage House
has something to do with this?

I do now, yeah.

So what kind of work was really
being done at Heritage House?

I really don't know that much.

But I had to get special
clearance for the job and everything,

but I was just the secretary.

My God, I went to work
for the Bureau because

I thought it'd be a way to meet cute guys.

Jenny, Jenny, just think.

There must be a reason
the FBI wanted whatever

it was they were doing
to be kept a secret.

You know, I thought there was some
paperwork that crossed my desk once.

Some special operation
they were monitoring.

What kind of operation?

Um...

I have no idea, but... But I
think it was called Project Marathon.

I'm going now, Jen. It
was nice to meet you.

Oh, the repair guy's on
his way up to fix the phone.

If you guys can wait till
he's done, that would be great.

Thanks, Brenda.

Brenda? Hey, how long
ago did the phones go out?

Brenda?

I'm here to fix the phone.

Okay.

Go on, then.

Thanks.

It's right here.

Are you okay?

Let's get out of here.

Do you have anything on you
they might be using to track us?

What do you mean?

Well, they got to Brenda's
almost the same time we did,

which means they either
knew ahead of time where

you'd be going or they're tracking you,

which means they've got a
homing device planted on you.

Oh, my God.

I'm supposed to wear this at all
times. Everyone in the building has one.

What?

This is some sort of homing device.

Oh, wait.

I don't understand.

They're probably monitoring
everybody else in that building.

Who are they?

Well, either the FBI
themselves or... What?

I don't know. I mean, some
other government agency maybe,

and maybe somebody who has
nothing to do with the government.

Do we get him at that phone call?

I know. Before we do, I want
you to think real hard, Jenny.

Is there anything else about Operation
Marathon that you can remember? Listen,

somebody just tried to kill
your entire office today.

The procedure that you're supposed to
follow almost got both of us killed.

I'm not asking you to completely trust me.

I'm just asking you to
trust them a little less.

Well, I can't be sure about this,

but I think Marathon was
monitoring another intelligence agency.

Another government agency?

No, not one of ours, but there were all
these codes that couldn't be broken in.

I dated one of the analysts
for a while, and he said that...

They discovered that there is this
surveillance equipment that was more

sophisticated than anything
anybody in the entire world was using.

Okay, let's make the call.

This is Fire Chief.

Yeah, this is Jenny Hsu.

Everyone's dead, and they just
made a second attempt on my life.

I want to speak to the assistant
director in charge of Heritage House.

Codename and section.

What?

Codename and section.

Oh, code, uh...
Codename Firebird, section 12.

Hold the line.

I have orders to get you to a pickup area.

No, no, no.

You're not coming in there. They
either play it your way or not at all.

Yeah, I don't think so. I
don't trust anyone anymore.

You either put me through to the
assistant director or I'm not coming in.

I said no interruptions.

All right.

Uh-huh. Patch her through.

This is Assistant Director Robman.

Can you prove that?

Who is this?

A friend. I'm a friend of
Jenny's shoes right now.

Maybe I can be a friend
of yours, if you help us.

Let me talk to her.

Just say hello.

This is Jenny.

Look, I want to keep this moving.

Look, I need more verification than that.

Look, you'll get your
verification when you bring us in.

That's what all this is
supposed to be about, isn't it?

But was a telephone
repairman supposed to pave the way?

Yes.

I don't know anything
about a telephone repairman.

Well, he came for us at
the first pickup spot.

He's dead.

A lot of people are dead.

Your people, right?

You're the one responsible for them.

That's right. Well, then
you bring us in by yourself.

We're not gonna trust anyone
else. That's not procedure.

Well, procedure seems to be
getting a lot of people killed.

Okay, there's a paper rack on the
southwest corner of 5th and G Street.

Take a paper from the bottom of the rack.

Come alone.

For all we know, one of your
people could have sent the phone man.

Seven o'clock tomorrow morning.

Wait a minute.

Bob, it's going into a
garage on 21st Street.

I'm unarmed. He's in the car.

Give me your coat. Put your
hands on the trunk of the car.

All right.

Tell me your name, and then
very slowly, show me your ID.

I am Assistant Director Stanley Robman.

Who am I talking to?

Tom Vale.

Take your jacket off.

Now pull up your shirt.

Look, I'll do whatever you say,

but you should know I am not wearing
a wire or any kind of homing device.

Why should I believe you?

Because it's the truth.

The truth is whatever
people like you say it is.

People were killed
yesterday at Heritage House.

There's no mention of
it in the entire paper.

Because we are trying to keep a lid on it
until we know what the hell is going on.

So tell me about Project Marathon.

I can't do that.

It's privileged information.

Is that what you're going to tell
the families of those dead agents?

Listen, I just need to know enough
to make me believe that you're real.

The clock is ticking, Robman.

You want to drive over
to the Washington Post,

give them the address to
Heritage House? We can do that.

Marathon is about
mind-control experiments.

Does that mean anything to you?

As a matter of fact, it does.

Who's conducting those
experiments? We don't know.

That's the reason for the secrecy.

That's the reason Heritage House
was set up in the first place.

Now, it is your turn to answer questions.

You're not getting what I know that easy.

We've lost our tail on Rodman.

What about picking up on
the FBI's own surveillance?

We tried that.

Even his own people aren't
following him, which is extremely unusual.

Maybe not so unusual.

Rodman probably thinks he's
got a traitor in his ranks.

So what do we do now?

We do absolutely nothing.

They'll be coming to us soon enough.

How did you wind up at Heritage House?

I intercepted a radio
message on a restricted frequency.

All it did was mention Heritage House. I
had no idea what was going to happen there.

Now, I need you to tell me
everything you know about them.

Other than what we've been able
to stumble onto, not very much.

Please, please put the gun down.

They seem to be some kind of
private security operation.

With what seems to be
unlimited funding and access

to the most sophisticated
intelligence equipment,

and as far as we can tell, no
ties to any government agency.

What about foreign governments?

The end of the Cold War changed all that.

Nobody has the resources these people
have. How come nobody knows about them?

Why hasn't their
existence been made public?

Are you serious?

You know what the public's
reaction would be with Congress?

There's a super secret intelligence
agency out there that no government

agency can penetrate that may in
fact be screwing with our lives.

Do you realize what kind of panic,
what kind of paranoia that would cause?

I know that by keeping it a secret,
you're allowing them to flourish.

First things first, I
need to debrief both of you

on what happened
yesterday at Heritage House.

You in particular have
more information about

these people than
anyone we've encountered.

What do you want?

Everything you've got about them.

Proof that what you just told me is true.

I can show you the proof,

but you'll have to agree to
come to one of our safe houses.

How safe is safe?

After what happened yesterday,
I can't make any guarantees.

And neither can anyone else.

It's a videotape of one
of their experiments.

I think it was taken with hidden cameras.

Aces over tens.

Oh, man, we've got to be cheating.

You guys are too cheap to cheat.

That must be the pizza guy. They
always get lost coming out here.

Another camera picks him up in the
hallway. The voice was enhanced by them.

Hello?

Hi, Paul.

Just thought I'd see how you
are doing on such a rainy day.

Just thought I'd see how you
are doing on such a rainy day.

Hey, while you're up there, grab me
another beer, will you? Hey, me too.

He sits there for another ten minutes.

Then when he comes out of
whatever state he's in,

he puts the gun in his mouth and...

It's a diabolical scheme, really.
They're creating perfect assassins,

impossible to trace because
of the people themselves.

They don't even know they're assassins.

Why kill all those
people at Heritage House now?

Well, we can only assume it's
because we're getting close.

There's this house in the
country we have under surveillance.

We think that's where
these videotapes came from.

We were gonna raid it last night,

but the massacre at Heritage
House forced us to postpone all that.

When are you going out there again?

Tonight. Take me with you.

Okay. Why not? Well, for
one thing, it is an extreme

violation of protocol. Oh, screw protocol.

You think the people you're up against
pay any attention to protocol? Come on.

And for another, you are too
valuable to risk in a field operation.

I want the same things that you want.

I can give you more
than you ever dreamed of.

I'll give you names and places and dates.

All right, Vale, you can come along.

But you stick to me, like glue.

Fine.

Yeah, thanks. I know these people.

Okay, I'll just be a little while.

All right?

Tom?

I never thanked you for saving my life.

Hey, hey.

Likewise.

I never would have made it
through this without you.

Let's go.

This looks familiar.
This is where they shot the

video. All right,
listen up. This is Robman.

I want a full forensics team out here
immediately. That's blood, fiber, DNA,

the works. I also want the perimeter
sealed off with additional security.

Nobody gets in here without my approval.

Sir? Yes?

There's something in the
basement you should see.

Looks like this is where
they process the video.

No, this isn't video.

This is state-of-the-art
photographic equipment.

There's an enlarger... digitized imager.

This is what they used to alter the photo.

Alter the photo?

What do you mean, like the
picture of Oswald smiling in

his backyard with a rifle
he used to shoot Kennedy?

Yeah, that's exactly what I mean.

I get the feeling you suddenly
know something I don't know.

This whole thing started with a
photograph. It's called Hidden Agenda.

Can I see it? No, I can show you a print.

A print?

What about the original
negative? No, I don't have it.

Why do I get the feeling you're
not telling me the truth? Look,

I can show you a print that
I made from the original.

I just can't show you the negative itself.

All right, well, that
print will have to do.

They're getting closer.

I think it's time we made a phone call.

See these palm trees to the
side of the gallows here? Yeah.

They were digitally added after
the original photograph was shot.

You know, I've seen altered photos before.

I've looked at this
particular photo a thousand times.

Unless you were using the same kind
of equipment we're using right now,

there's no way you could have known.

Look at these shadows back here.

I've enlarged this 80%, and
even the smallest background

shadow matches up with
the rest of the elements.

Exactly how much of this photo's been
altered? It's gonna take hours to tell that.

I'll have to do several
generations of blow-ups and

then scan every line of
shadow in each generation.

Let me know when you're done.

Thanks, man. Sure.

I've been trying to quit
these things for 15 years.

Every time I think I get it
licked, something like this comes up.

There's trouble with this
business. Something always comes up.

All right.

I pretty much laid my cards on the table.

I've got a videotape of
mind control experiments.

I've got an empty house where
these experiments or tests or whatever

the hell they were are
supposed to have taken place.

And now I have this photograph, hidden
agenda, where you claim it all started.

That's where it all started for me.

Well, why don't you tell me about it?
Why don't you tell me the whole story?

Because you may never have
a more captive audience.

Okay.

These people are the same
ones that killed your agents.

Want the negative.

And basically, they've taken my
life away from me trying to get it.

And in the process, they've
forced me to question everything

and everyone that I ever thought was real.

What about the photo
itself? Where was it taken?

Well, I thought I'd taken it in
South America, but about a month ago,

a defector from the security
organization, as you call them,

gave me directions to a place about
five miles from the Capitol building,

just a wooded bluff on the
other side of the Potomac, and...

The same Gallows was standing in
the middle of a clearing there.

And except for the
people and the palm trees,

it was the exact same place where I
thought that I'd taken the picture.

So you weren't surprised when our
technician said the photo had been altered? No,

it just confirmed what I'd
been suspecting for some time,

and I tried to blow the photo up myself,

but obviously I don't have
the equipment that you do.

This site where you took the
photo, can you take me there?

Yeah.

Yes?

Sir, Agent Stafford in
photo analysis found something.

Look at this area here.

Long sleeves were digitally
added to this man's shirt.

This is what I found underneath on the
original. It's a sequence of numbers.

Looks to be similar to the numbers used
in the concentration camps by the Nazis.

I'd have to run more tests to be
absolutely certain. What does this mean to you?

Come on, Robin, don't back out
on me now. What does it mean?

It means that the man may or may not
have been in a concentration camp.

That's impossible. Listen, I may be
confused about where the picture was taken.

I'm not going to forget what I saw.

That's all.

The men who were hung that day
weren't even alive during World War II.

Nobody is questioning what you saw, Bale.

We agree the picture
has been doctored, right?

Right? We agree the
picture's been doctored.

We agree the photo has been doctored.
We don't agree on anything else. Dale.

You're holding something back from me.

Try to verify those
numbers. Talk to me, Rob.

I'll talk to you in the car.

I need you to take me to the site where
this photo was taken. Excuse me, sir. What?

We're having a problem with Jenny's shoe.

You can speak freely, Stiles.

She's starting to freak out.

She says the only person she
trusts is a... Well, call in a doctor.

Tell her to give her Haldol if he has to.

What the hell is going
on? Listen to me, Vale.

The debriefing and ultimate care of
Jenny Hsu is none of your business.

Well, I'm making it my
business. I want to take her with us.

That is totally out of the question.
Well, then break out the Haldol for me, too.

I'm not taking you anywhere.

I think we're getting
close to Highway 23. There's

a turnoff up here on
the right, about a mile.

Rodman.

Well, if you're certain about that, you
better notify the director immediately.

No, that's the way it has to be. From now
on, everything is on the record. Got it?

You want to tell me what that
phone call just confirmed? I can't.

Listen, I thought we had a deal.

I thought we were going to
share what we knew equally. Tom,

there are some things
that if you knew about

them would endanger your life even more.

You know more about them than
you're telling me. That was the deal.

Just take me to the gallows.

After that, I'll tell you the rest.

Bye.

You know, I think it'd just probably
be better if you stayed with the car.

We're just gonna be gone
a couple minutes. Jenny,

there's a 9mm in the
glove compartment of the car.

I'm sure you won't need it.

Let's go. Okay.

You're expecting trouble, aren't you? No.

No, it's just it's been a
while since I worked in

the field. I want to be
prepared, that's all.

It's just up ahead.

This is the place.

Is this the place? This is it.

Hudson, this is Robman. Match
the GPS coordinates off my car.

We're about 150 yards northwest of
there. I want a full forensics team out here.

Also, I want NSA authorization
to use satellite photographs

of this area over the
last three years. Got it?

Roger, sir. Right away.

All right, good.

Let's go back to the car.

Who was the man with the numbers on
his wrist? I can't tell you that.

Who was he?

His name is Matthew Balkin.

He's a United States senator.

He disappeared mysteriously about nine
months ago. What's his connection to me?

There may not be a connection.

Balkan was in the concentration
camp when he was 10 years old.

The numbers on his arm were
the only reason we were able

to trace his identity so
quickly off that picture.

He wasn't in the
picture, Robman. I was there.

I'll never forget the faces of those
men. They're etched permanently in my mind.

At one time, you thought the location
was permanently etched on your mind.

You thought the picture
was taken in South America.

These people can do
whatever they want, Tom.

They can even mess with your memory.

All right, look, I, uh... If there is
something I can give you, it's in my car.

It'll tell you everything I know, but
after that I won't be able to help you.

You understand?

It's in the trunk.

Just thought I'd see how you
are doing on such a rainy day.

On such a rainy day. On such a
rainy day. On such a rainy day.

On such a rainy day.

On such a rainy day.

Get her in the car. You all right? Yeah.

Bullet went right through me.

Hurts like hell.

I'll take care of her,
Tom. She's my responsibility.

She's a victim of one of their
experiments. She's not one of them.

There's a black-handled
screwdriver in the trunk of the car. Get it.

What? Get it!

Unscrew the bottom of the handle.

There's a safety deposit box at
the National Bank in Silver Springs.

Everything I know about them, everything
I know about Senator Balkan is in that box.

There's also something
about you in that, Tom.

About me? Yes, it's in the box. Read
it. I'll get the hell out of here.

Go, get the hell out of here!

Don't you realize I can't
even trust my own people?

May God help you, Tom.