SAM: Has Ryan had any emotional issues,
visits to the school psychologist?
No.
What about grades?
Any fluctuations lately?
No, he's pretty much an A-minus student every term--
excels in science,
takes AP Physics, won some awards.
SAM: You told the police
that Ryan disappeared after the lunch period.
He missed three classes.
Um, is he prone to skipping classes?
No, actually, he's had a perfect attendance record.
Well, why weren't his parents notified then?
There are over 3,000 students in this school
and we do our best with limited resources.
Here's his locker.
It's, uh, 1252.
Have you seen this before?
No.
MAN: Hey, Martin, welcome back.
Thanks.
VIVIAN: Hey,
look who's back.
Hey. How you doing?
Oh, I'm doing great.
Aww. How you doing?
Well, I've been back a week already.
People went missing, we have to find them, right?
Yeah, right.
So who do we got on the board?
Ryan Wallace,
15 year old, last seen
H.S. 402
during lunch yesterday.
His mom's out of town.
She's a flight attendant,
but I'm heading over to his apartment
to interview his sister.
Okay.
Look, I'm sure Jack will call you
when things get rolling.
Yeah, I'm sure he will.
Welcome back.
Thanks.
When's your mother going to be back?
I don't know.
I left word with the airline,
but she's already on her way to Detroit.
I'm sure she'll turn around
as soon as her plane touches down.
How often is she out of town?
Two to three days a week, depends on the time of year.
What about your father?
He was killed six years ago.
How?
He was mugged.
Well, what with your father gone and your mother away a lot,
it must be very tough on Ryan.
Yeah, he worries.
About what?
Everything.
It only got worse after 9/11.
Why's that?
Because he was there that day.
He saw the planes hit.
He saw the people jumping out of the buildings.
Is that his room?
Yeah.
I can't imagine his mother being a flight attendant helps any.
Well, he's always going on
about how she needs anti-missile systems.
He gets kind of crazy about it.
Someone wrote the words "The End"
on his school locker.
Do you have any idea what that means?
No.
Do you know where he hangs out after school?
No.
Look, I'm sorry.
I-I have two jobs.
I don't know where Ry goes
or what he does, or anything.
But you were with him the night before he disappeared?
Yeah.
Did you notice anything unusual?
I was running in from work.
I barely had time to talk, but yeah.
Yeah, he-he was acting kind of out of it.
Hey, Ry, how you doing?
Fine.
Superman marathon?
Lots of fat Marlon Brando
about to appear in the ice castle, right?
Fortress of Solitude.
You want to watch?
Oh, love to, but us sexy secretaries
are having a girl's night.
Woo-hoo!
Whatever.
Hello?
Hey, Charlie,
what up, big guy?
Yeah, hold on.
Maybe he can come over.
Tell him I'm not here right now.
You've seen this like a million times.
I just don't want to talk.
He'll call you back, okay?
Okay, bye.
I shouldn't have gone out.
I should have stayed and watched that stupid movie.
Who's Charlie?
His best friend, Charlie Lane.
They've been inseparable since like the third grade.
And what can you tell me about him?
Charlie's big,
kind of not so bright.
Ryan skipped the second grade,
because he's like this genius.
And they sort of found each other.
Charlie protects Ryan.
Ryan does Charlie's homework.
Perfect pair, huh?
Do you have any idea
why your brother didn't want to talk to him?
No.
No, I can't imagine.
Does Ryan have any friends in your class?
I haven't really noticed anyone that he hangs around with.
Anyone ever pick on him?
Well, you know, it was just the anniversary of 9/11.
So I thought it would be a good time
to debate the issue
of putting a new skyscraper at ground zero.
Ryan had some pretty strong opinions about it.
It's about pride, you know?
We have to rebuild this for ourselves.
Okay, very good, Marisa.
Anyone else think of any other reasons?
Any other opinions?
Ryan?
I was just going to say,
maybe it's not such a good idea to build there.
BOY: Oh, yeah?
What ideas you got, Tiny?
A monument would be more appropriate.
Not another billion-dollar target.
Well, damn, so you just want to let them terrorist dogs win?
All I'm saying is,
they hit us in '93, and we still didn't protect it.
People just went right back to work there.
What did they expect?
BOY: So what are you saying?
That the people who died in them towers were stupid?
No. The government should have done a better job protecting them.
My uncle was a janitor in Building One.
Was he stupid?
Take it easy, Laquan.
They're not looking out for us.
I mean,
do you really feel safer today than before?
Laquan, sit down.
Laquan!
Are you okay, Ryan?
Yeah.
I shouldn't have let it go that far.
But I wanted to give them the chance to open up about it.
Are any of these kids violent?
They've had hard lives.
Some of them can be, sure.
Can Laquan be violent?
Well, yes.
But he's on a student government trip.
He's been in DC since yesterday morning.
Mm-hmm.
Really.
Okay. Uh...
Okay, if that's the case, let's expand it
five blocks in every direction.
Mm-hmm.
Canvas.
Uh, right, Delancey to the North.
Okay, look, I got to run.
Yeah, thanks.
Hey.
You look good.
Thanks. I feel good.
How's the physical therapy?
Eh, you know, it's coming along good.
That's great.
Um, we have a bunch of stuff coming in
from Ryan's apartment.
I'd appreciate it if you could look through it,
see what you can dig up.
All right.
I can do that.
It's good to see you back.
Jack, you got a sec?
Sure.
I was just wondering
when you were going to take off the training wheels.
What's that supposed to mean?
You're barely letting me do any interviews.
You're limiting my time out in the field.
I mean, I should be out there at the school
helping Danny and Sam.
You just had major surgery.
And my doctors say that my heart is stronger than ever.
Look, I'm just not comfortable
putting you back out in the field yet.
So what would you like me to do, besides check my emails?
The kid's computer
is in the tech room. I mean...
you can check that, if you want.
( balls bouncing, whistle blows )
Yo, Charlie!
Keep playing, fellas.
Come here.
This is Agent Spade from the FBI.
She wants to talk to you
about Ryan Wallace.
All right?
How you doing?
Is Ryan still gone?
Yeah. Um... let's take a seat.
Do you have any idea where he might be?
No. Sorry.
You're his best friend, right?
Uh... we don't really hang anymore.
Since when?
Couple of months.
What happened?
I failed Algebra, and hooked up
with some guys at summer school.
Wow. Seven years of friendship over just like that?
We were little when we started hanging out.
You know, things change.
I've got a girlfriend now.
I mean, we grew apart,
It happens. No big deal.
Why did you call his house the other night?
What do you mean?
Well, Ryan's sister said you called.
I felt bad about something
that happened that day at lunch.
You probably already know all about it.
No, I don't.
Why don't you tell me?
Well, we were all kind of hard on him.
Aw!
Check it out, y'all.
9/11 boy reads comic books.
You sure that's okay with Osama, stubby?
What? Are we
too stupid for you?
You ain't gonna talk to us?
Ooh!
Techno Riot. That sounds
scary, buddy.
Yo, I said,
are we too stupid for you?
Is that it?
Or are you just a scared little bitch?
He's gonna cry. Aw!
Are you gonna cry now?
Get the hell away from me,
you morons!
Charlie.
Dude.
What the hell, man?
You gotta do something
about that.
Oh, my!
Dude!
Oh, Yeah!
That's what I'm talking about, little bitch.
I guess he is just a scared little bitch.
That's right, man.
It was a stupid thing to do.
I know it was.
That's why I was calling him, to apologize.
These friends of yours, were they done with him,
or did they have plans to go at him again?
No, that was it.
They wouldn't do much more than that.
Do you, uh... do you know where Ryan hangs out
when he's not in school?
No. Not anymore.
Oh, um... did you see his locker today?
Yeah, I saw that.
But I didn't do it.
I didn't ask you if you did it.
Do you know what it means?
I don't know. No clue.
Any luck with the hard drive?
Just homework papers so far.
Up to our asses in Marie Antoinette letting everybody
eat cake.
Martin Fitzgerald, meet James Mackeroy.
Hey. You can... you can call me Mack.
All right, Mack.
Lot of things changing around here.
For the, uh... for the better, I hope.
VIVIAN: How we doing on the canvassing?
It's been expanded, but nothing so far.
Johnson.
So, I, uh... I... I heard what happened to you.
Six weeks, and you're back on the job.
That's pretty impressive.
I had good nurses.
Right.
VIVIAN: Handwriting expert says that it was Ryan
who wrote "The End" on his locker.
So, do we
have any files with "The End" in them?
We'll check.
Here's one from, uh... from a couple of days ago.
That's the school.
WOMAN: Let's go! Let's go, kids.
Let's go. Move away from the school.
All right. Bomb squad's in. Nothing yet.
NYPD is doing a room-to-room
to make sure all the kids are out. All right?
Okay. Where the hell you going?
To help with the room-to-room.
PD's got it covered. I don't want you
going back in that building. You understand?
Yeah. I understand.
We got a problem here?
No. No problem at all, sir.
Great.
Go talk to school security.
Press them on the last 48 hours.
Excuse me. Excuse me.
Are you with the police?
Uh... yes. FBI.
Now, would you please get behind the barricade?
I'm Ben Harrison.
I was Ryan's Social Studies teacher last year.
Tell me what you know, Mr. Harrison.
Well, when I heard Ryan was missing,
I didn't put it together.
But now, with all this...
Put what together?
Near the end of the year, we were...
we were getting ready for final projects.
That's what I do in my class instead of a final exam
because it encourages them to...
Please, Mr. Harrison, spare me the teaching philosophy.
Just cut to the chase. Right.
Well, Ryan pitched me a project idea on school safety.
And, at first, it sounded like an interesting concept.
Then he really blindsided me.
You want to create a plan to bomb the school?
I'll expose the holes in security,
and the administration will be forced
to implement appropriate safety measures.
That's very clever, but it's just too inflammatory.
Exactly. That's the only way to get anyone's attention.
You know they'll only react when something happens.
But then it'll be too late.
Ryan, are... are you afraid
something's going to happen to you?
I'm afraid for everyone.
Last month, I saw a kid with a gun in his locker.
How did it get through the metal detectors?
Can you tell me that?
Who was it?
I don't know.
Well, did you report it?
You don't get it.
Anyone could do
anything anytime.
We're no safer than the people in those towers.
And no one is paying any attention.
Look, I respect your passion,
but you know I can't let you move forward with it.
And I got him to calm down, and he apologized.
He... he promised he'd stop working on it
if I didn't report him.
Well, as long as he promised.
Mr. Harrison, that's a cry for help.
Did you contact his mother?
I thought it was handled.
Looks like the kid's right.
Nobody is paying attention.
So what are we dealing with here--
school bomber or safety advisor?
I don't know, but this kid is pretty smart.
I mean, these are detailed schedules
of when the security guards change shifts,
when the janitor props the doors open.
Cunning little kid.
Mmm. Cunning and wounded-- a dangerous combination.
Yeah.
MARTIN: Talking about me?
Hey!
Hi.
Here. Let me. Oh, thanks.
Why... welcome back.
You, um...
Left my top hat in the car.
You look good.
Thanks. You, too.
Thanks.
How's... how's it coming with the comic books?
I looked at them in his room.
There are no receipts,
no bags with store imprints on them.
They could have come from anywhere.
The Wart.
Looks like an indie.
Does that mean limited release?
Yeah. It could be.
Let's check out their Web site.
All right.
Okay, it is limited release.
Only sold at three newsstands in New York--
one on Staten Island,
one in Brooklyn, and one in Manhattan...
Downtown. ...downtown.
Excuse me. Excuse me.
I'm Special Agent Taylor.
I'm with the FBI.
To what do I owe this honor?
The honor is mine.
Do you recognize this kid?
Sure. He's always here.
He's a comic book freak.
When's the last time you saw him?
Uh... yesterday afternoon.
Why
No. He's missing.
Oh, gosh. I...
What? Oh, I don't know.
It didn't seem like no big thing,
but now that you say he's missing, maybe...
Hope the good guys kick some tush.
Thanks. Enjoy.
They talked for a little while, then the kid got in.
Do you remember what kind of a car it was?
Yeah. It was a mid-'80s Oldsmobile Cutlass, maybe
yellow, gold or something.
Good memory. Did it look
like he knew the guy inside the car?
Figured it's the kid that he comes here with.
What kid?
Oh, I don't know no names.
A big guy.
Big. Big as in tall?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
Terrell Grant?
I'm Mr. Grant.
Jack Malone, FBI.
You sure it's safe to go back in?
There's no bomb. Other than that, you're on your own.
Now, I understand that you're Charlie Lang's study hall teacher?
That's right.
You know where he is?
I haven't seen him.
Was he in study hall yesterday afternoon?
No. He said he had a doctor's appointment.
Anybody else absent?
Just, uh... Lance.
Lance Carson.
You wouldn't know what kind of car
Lance drives, would you?
I think I saw him
in an old Cutlass.
Thank you.
BOY: Watch this!
What the hell you want? You from the V.A.?
You Todd Crenshaw?
Yeah.
Special Agent Malone.
This is Special Agent Taylor.
We're from the FBI.
Feds. You gonna give me another medal
for outstanding service in the guard?
We're just wondering
if we could take a look around inside your place.
What's this about?
Is your son Lance around?
He's probably still in school.
We've been looking for this kid.
You seen him?
Yeah. He was with Lance and another boy yesterday.
They were goofing around in the basement.
Do you mind?
Knock yourself out.
Clear.
What is it?
Hey.
Okay, preliminary forensics confirm
it's Ryan's blood and urine.
Abu Ghraib comes to high school.
Yeah.
And Lance's father didn't hear anything.
You buy that?
I don't know.
He might've been doped up on painkillers. Hmm.
Hey, Ryan's mother just got in from Detroit.
What about Charlie? MIA.
His parents say they have no idea where he is,
but you know how that goes.
So we're gonna monitor
their apartment building and their phones.
Okay. Why don't you interview Ryan's mother.
Sam, put out an APB on Charlie.
Okay. All right.
Okay. Thanks.
I'm Special Agent Malone.
Hm. Impressive title.
Oh, you're a funny guy.
These are pretty impressive, don't you think?
That's my basement. So what?
Yeah, you really should tidy it up
after you finish torturing your classmates.
What? You duct-taped Ryan to a chair,
and you shocked him with an electrical cord. No, I didn't.
Yeah, we found his blood on the chair,
and his urine on the floor.
Do not mess with me.
All right, look, man.
Okay, we shocked him a little.
All right? But we had no choice.
You had no choice?
Life's full of choices-- you just chose
20 to life.
Look, he went all section eight sicko on us, man.
He totally schizzed out.
I'm doing it. What?
The bomb plan-- and you're gonna go to jail for it.
What the hell are you talking about?
Give us a minute.
I'm gonna give all the plans to the police.
Your fingerprints are all over 'em. But we did it
for fun-- it was just a dumb school project.
You said we would never really do it
for real. Well, now we are.
Ryan, I'm sorry about lunch today.
Come on, man, let's just forget about it, okay?
I never would have done that to you. Never.
I'm gonna plant the bomb,
but I'm gonna change the location
so you'll never find it in time.
Tomorrow afternoon at 5:00...
your life is over.
You know, Charlie tried calling him that night,
you know, to talk him down, but the twerp
wouldn't even come to the phone.
Why didn't you call the police?
We couldn't. Charlie had helped make the plan with him.
I mean, he had no alibi, and there was no time.
What would the police do?
Get out of my air space. Just sit back.
So you what, you went and got Ryan in your dad's car?
No, I gave Charlie the car.
He knew where Ryan would be, and we met back at my place.
Where you proceeded to torture him.
Look, we were just gonna scare him.
Rough him up some to get the location
of the bomb out of him, but he was being a wise-ass, man.
I mean, he wouldn't tell us nothing!
Look... I know what's up in the world, man, okay?
I know.
And sometimes you got to get it done.
Where's the bomb, freak?
In your ass, with your head.
Where's the bomb!? Damn it, Ryan, it's almost 4:00.
Just tell us where it is.
We'll get it out of him. What are you doing?
Taking care of business.
Oh...
I'm wet; now I'll tell you everything.
Shut up, Ry! This is your last chance, Ryan.
Or what
Whoa, Lance, Lance, just wait. There's no time, Charlie!
We have to handle this.
CHARLIE: Come on, Ryan, just tell us where it is.
I made it up.
I made it all up. There's no bomb.
What?
I'm sorry.
I was just trying to scare you.
Charlie, please...
Get in there.
Where's the bomb?!
He said he didn't do it! Shut up! Where is it?
Where's the bomb, man? Come on, you guys.
Come on! Where?!
Where Where?!
: It's in the boiler.
The boiler room.
See that?
So did you find the bomb?
No.
I just... I figured he lied
about where he put it.
Why do you think I wasn't in school today?
So self-preservation trumped the safety of your classmates.
Look, this was Ryan and Charlie's thing, all right?
I had nothing to do with this.
What happened when you got back to the basement?
They were both gone. You talk to Charlie?
No, I-I haven't seen him since.
I-I don't know what he did with Ryan.
I don't understand.
Apparently Charlie believed
that Ryan was gonna bomb the school.
That they had actually worked out a plan together.
What?
Did you know anything about it?
He wouldn't...
Ryan would never hurt anyone.
Ever since his father died,
all he's ever wanted to do was protect people.
You should see the way he worries about me when I go away.
You've known Charlie Lang for a while, right?
Yes. Has he ever
acted violently before toward Ryan?
No, of course not. They love each other.
I can't...
I can't imagine what must be going on with Charlie. I...
Excuse me.
Hey.
How have you been? Yeah, I'm okay.
Uh, tough case to come back to, huh?
Yeah, sure is.
Look, Martin, I'm...
I'm sorry that I haven't come to see you in a while.
Come on, man, there's no worries.
I mean, I was, uh, kind of out of it anyway.
So... it's-it's cool.
Cool. All right, I'm gonna head back to my desk.
I want to finish this, all right? All right.
It's good to see you.
We get any pops on Charlie's cell?
No, looks like it's still in the Big Apple.
We tried him from his parents'
and his grandparents' numbers.
He's not biting; Jack's gonna try something with Lance.
Whatever happened to wedgies? Yeah.
What's the deal, man?
Sit down.
Charlie have any reason to fear you? No.
I want you to pick up your phone and call him.
All right, but, uh...
'kay, then you got to do something for me.
Like...
you know, immunity.
Immunity from what?
From what we did to Ryan.
What'd you do to Ryan?
I already told you.
I think you killed him.
What? I think you killed Charlie, too.
Why would I kill Charlie? Because, you were afraid he'd fold.
No. Hey, hey, no! Listen, to me.
I told you the truth, man.
Let me tell you something,
if we don't find your friend,
the truth's not gonna matter.
Juries convict sick bastards like you
every day, and five minutes later
they go and get a book deal. No, I'm...
You draw the wrong judge, the one that's looking
to run for governor, we're talking lethal injection.
You're 17-- they can try you as an adult.
But I swear to God, I didn't kill anyone!
Then pick up the phone and call your friend
and prove to me that he's okay.
I want you to tell him
that everything is okay and that you're in the clear.
Lance, what's going on, man?
Are they after us?
LANCE: No, uh, everything's cool, bro.
Uh...
yeah, they're... we're in the clear.
CHARLIE: You sure, man?
I mean, how do you know? Got him. He's downtown.
LANCE: I just do.
They're not after us, dude.
Are you sure?
Tell him you'll pick him up. Yeah.
Listen, I'll come pick you up, all right?
I don't know, man.
I don't know, I'm all messed up, dude.
Ask him why. Why?
: I feel so bad.
I feel so bad about what we did.
Charlie, I need you to stay calm
and to stay put-- we're tracking you,
and we're coming to pick you up.
What
I'm with the FBI.
We want to help you.
Oh, God. Oh, God.
Charlie, I need you to stay calm and start talking to me.
They're in here.
Hi, sweetheart.
Sit down, Charlie.
Where's Ryan?
I already told her I don't know.
You were the last one to see him alive, Charlie.
Honey, if you know anything, you've got to tell them.
But I don't. I was the one that let him go.
So what, you tortured him, had a little chitchat,
and said good
Hey, we agreed to do this without a lawyer.
Just go easy.
I'm not going easy, Mr. Lang.
Your son tortured his friend,
and doesn't want to face the consequences.
Charlie.
Something else happened in that basement.
Why don't you tell us what it was?
Ryan was so messed up.
I just wanted him to leave.
Why'd you let him do that, Charlie?
Shut up, dude. Just shut up.
I didn't.
I didn't plant the bomb.
I never even assembled it.
What?
I was just trying to scare you.
You're crazy, man,
you're totally crazy.
You were my best friend, Charlie.
What happened?
Nothing, man.
I made new friends.
Why couldn't you just, why couldn't you just accept that?
Why couldn't you just leave me alone?
Just go.
Just get out of here.
So just let me clarify this. There is no bomb?
That's what he said.
But we had all the materials.
Oh, Charlie!
Oh, my God.
Ryan said it was the only way we could
get the school to take us seriously.
You know, to prove that we could do it.
So what about the components, where did you keep them?
At Ryan's house.
We searched Ryan's house. We didn't find anything.
It's in a plastic box on the roof.
We searched the roof.
We searched the entire building.
Then he must have it.
But we kept the detonator in Ryan's closet for safety.
I don't understand.
I thought you said he didn't do it, it was a prank.
It was, but we think that after what Lance and Charlie did
to him, he came back here and was going to do it for real.
Now I need you to think, Claire.
Is there any possibility
that he could have come back here last night,
when you were at work?
I don't know.
I'm sorry.
He was here.
Bomb squad's on its way.
If you find him, just sit tight. No cell phones or walkies.
I don't want to set this thing off.
* This is the End *
* Beautiful friend *
* This is the End *
* My only friend the End *
* Of our elaborate plans the End *
* Of everything that stands the End *
* No safety or surprise the End *
* I'll never look into your eyes *
* Again *
I shouldn't have been able to get in here.
You're right.
The janitor always leaves the north door open
when he's cleaning at night.
Well, we'll talk to school security about that, okay?
Ryan, my name's Danny Taylor. I'm with the FBI.
I'd like to talk to you,
if that's okay with you.
I've been trying to decide whether to do it now,
or wait until everyone comes in tomorrow.
SPADE : What the hell is he doing?
He's trying to get himself killed.
Ryan, I know everything that you've gone through.
What do you know?
I know about your father.
I know that you were downtown on 9/11.
I know that your best friend Charlie turned his back on you.
I also know what they did to you in that basement.
I don't want it anymore.
I can't.
Yes, you can.
Ryan, you've got to think about
your mom and your sister.
They love you so much.
Ryan, they want you to come home.
Can you do that?
No.
Ryan, we could get you help.
You could go to another school.
You never have to come back here again.
I can't.
Don't do it.
Come on. Come on.
Come on!
Come here.
Bomb squad said the wire in the detonator separated.
Otherwise, uh...
Yeah.
Look, I'll see you back at...
Okay.
What is the matter with you? What is up with you?
Are you feeling invincible? Is that it?
That kid opened up and I took an opportunity.
That's it. Shut up!
We had a chance to talk that kid down,
and now he has to live the rest of his life
knowing that he pressed that button, and so do you.
You keep screwing up,
and you're going to be doing brick time in two seconds flat.
Do not mess with me.
It's going to be pretty tough for Ryan.
At least he'll get the attention he needs.
How you doing?
You know, working out the cobwebs,
but it's good to be back.
We're going to add a new agent to the squad.
Because of me?
No.
We're just spread too thin.
It's starting to take its toll.
I thought it was necessary.
Yeah.
Well, whatever works.
Just giving you a heads up.
So you're good?
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm fantastic.
Okay.