Scene: Friday afternoon. Megan dropping Lacey off at a friend's house, after school.

Megan: "OK, you have everything for your sleep-over at Brittany's? You have your insulin and you will remember to check in with me?"

Lacey (major eye roll): "Yes, Mom. Quit treating me like a baby. I'm old enough that other people could hire me as a sitter for their kids."

Megan (sighs): "I know, sweetheart, but this is your first sleepover since your diagnosis. I know you're a capable young woman, but I worry anyway."

Lacey: "Brittany and I are going to order pizza for supper, and her parents will be home by 7. We'll be fine."

Megan: "Have a good time. Don't answer the door for any rapists or murderers."

Lacey: "I promise that if some creepy-looking guy rolls up in a windowless van marked 'Criminals R Us', we won't open the door."

Megan: "See? That's all I ask..."

Lacey (exiting the car): "Later, Mom."

Megan: "I'll pick you up tomorrow after lunch, honey. Have a good time."

(end scene)

Scene: Interior of home where Lacey will be staying overnight, approximately 6 p.m. Doorbell rings.

Brittany: "That must be the pizza. I wonder if it's a cute delivery guy?"

Lacey: "Dibs if it is."

Brittany looks out the window and sees the pizza delivery sign on top of the car, opens the door. Two men in hoodies grab her, open a pizza box which has not pizza, but cloth with something like chloroform.

Brittany (screaming): "Help! Lacey! Call 911!"

(hand goes over her mouth)

Kidnapper #1 (holding Brittany): "She's got somebody with her. Get the other kid!"

Second kidnapper grabs Lacey as she tries to get her phone out of her purse, general scuffle, both girls are subdued and taken out to the car, which drives off.

(end scene.)

Scene: Megan's place. Phone rings (landline). Time is a little before 7 pm.

Megan: "Hello, Mrs. Carter. How are the girls? Is Lacey doing OK?"

(listens)

"No, I don't know where they are. I dropped off Lacey after school. That was about 4."

"Have you tried calling Brittany? No answer? I'll try Lacey on my cell."

(tries calling Lacey)

"I'm not getting an answer from Lacey, either. She knows better than that. I'll keep trying Lacey and you keep trying Brittany. Is there any place they might have gone? Any place Brittany and Lacey might have gone with some boys that stopped by and picked them up? All right, I'll call you back every half hour."

Megan hangs up, looking very worried.

Scene: a truck stop. A man places two calls, makes it a conference call, then brushes past a mother and discreetly drops it into a diaper bag.

Cut to Brittany's house.

Mrs. Carter: "Hello? Brittany?"

Scrambled voice: "Brittany isn't available right now, Mrs. Carter. If you want to see her again, you have 24 hours to come up with $4 million in cash or metals. Or you can try the installment plan. Half a million for each arm, a million for the head. We're willing to make delivery piecemeal."

Phone goes dead.

Cut to Megan's place. Phone rings again.

Megan: "Hello? Oh, hello Mrs. Carter. Please tell me you've heard from the girls... They what? Have you contacted the police? Oh, dear God... I'll be over as soon as I can."

end scene.

Scene: Carter house. Swarming with police, detectives, crime scene guys. A detective is interviewing Megan.

Detective: "So you dropped off your daughter around four. Did she say the girls had any plans to go anywhere?"

Megan: "No, I was pretty clear on that. Lacey said they were going to stay in and order pizza."

Detective: "We're tracking down the pizza order. Anything else you can think of?"

Megan: "I'm with the ME's office. Do you think this was somebody trying to get back at me?"

Detective: "It doesn't look that way. It appears to be a straight-up kidnapping for ransom. The occupant of the house seems to be the primary target. Your daughter might have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. We're trying to run down the phone the ransom demand was placed from."

Megan: "Detective, my daughter was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. She needs her insulin."

Detective: "I'll make everyone aware of that, Dr. Hunt. We know you're with the ME's office. We're putting as many people on this as we can. For now, you're better off just going home. We'll let you know as soon as we find out anything."

Megan: "I can't go home, I'll go crazy. Maybe I'll go in to the office. You have my cell. Call me."

Megan goes to the Carters.

Megan: "Mr. and Mrs. Carter – I'm Megan Hunt. I don't think we've met, except over the phone."

Mr. Carter: "I'm Michael, and this is Brittany's mother, Denise. I'm sorry we have to meet like this. I'm even sorrier your Lacey was caught up in this."

Mrs. Carter: "You work in the coroner's office?"

Megan: "Yes."

Mr. Carter: "Can you use your connections to make the case a priority?"

Megan: "It looks as though it already is a pretty high priority, Michael. If we get too many more CS people in here, they might start compromising evidence."

Mr. Carter: "We'll do anything to get our daughter back, and yours. Pay the ransom, trade ourselves for the girls, anything..."

Megan: "I feel the same way. It's very difficult to stand by and wait."

Mr. Carter: "I'm used to getting people together and getting things done. I want to do something."

Megan: "I know the feeling. I see you have a very nice home. What do you do for a living?"

Mr. Carter: "I'm a metals broker. I supply industrial metals to manufacturers in the region. Cadmium, titanium, zinc, things like that."

Megan: "Would any of those be precious metals, Michael? Gold, silver, platinum, anything like that?"

Mr. Carter: "Sometimes. In fact, we just got a shipment of platinum in yesterday for a catalytic converter company in Ohio. It's used for emissions control in cars."

Megan: "Did you happen to mention that to the detectives?"

Mr. Carter: "Not yet. Is that important?"

Megan: "How much is it worth?"

Mr. Carter: "About five million dollars or so, depending on the market. Prices have been high lately."

Megan (trying to control herself): "If you want something to do, why don't you go tell this to the detectives, Michael? Now."

Mr. Carter: "OK."

He leaves to talk to a detective.

Megan: "I think I'll go in to work and make sure our lab guys are ready for any evidence that turns up. I'll stay in touch, Denise."

Mrs. Carter: "All right. Here are both of our business cards, with our cell phone numbers. The detectives wanted us to keep the land line clear for any calls from... from the kidnappers."

Megan: "Stay strong. We'll deal with this."

Megan turns and starts to leave, muttering to herself.

Megan: "See what Barry has to say this time. 'Please don't talk to the witnesses, Megan, you tip our hand.' At least I can figure out how the kidnappers intend to get paid. Those moron detectives didn't even ask about the Carters' money."

"I guess I'll call Kate and let her know what's going on..."

She pulls out a cell phone.

(end scene)

Scene: ME's office, Friday evening. Megan enters.

Kate: "Megan! Everybody's here. We're all ready to help any way we can."

Sam: "I'm here, too. I talked the boss into letting me be your liaison. I've got my guys letting me know about any developments. Bud is out in the field."

Megan: "Thanks, you guys."

She hugs Sam.

"It means a lot. Did they have any luck tracing the cell phone in the ransom call?"

Sam: "Yes and no. They finally tracked it down to a very surprised family on their way to Illinois. Apparently, one of the kidnappers created a conference call, then slipped the phone into a diaper bag at a truck stop. We're trying to run down the other end, but not expecting much."

Barry: "These guys are pretty good."

Megan: "I was hoping for friends who would comfort me in a crisis. Somehow you are not my first choice for a sympathetic ear, Mr. Gray. Why are you here?"

Barry: "Oh, I was getting bored at home. My girlfriend decided she was busy tonight. Some lame excuse about an office emergency. I hope she's not breaking up with me."

Kate: "I'm not your girlfriend, and we had no plans for the evening. Keep up the annoying remarks and you can look elsewhere for a boss pretty soon, too."

Barry: "The women in this office are always so touchy. I think they must be sexually frustrated."

Kate: "MR. GRAY!"

Barry: "What? OK, maybe it's the shoes. I'll get you guys some of those gel inserts they show on the commercials. People who have those seem so much more easygoing."

Megan: "Why don't you get some for your mouth? Since that's where your foot usually is. Or you could just go home, instead of distracting us from our work."

Bob: "Nobody complained until you showed up. I'm just hanging out, video chatting with some friends. Discussing the issues of the day."

Megan: "My daughter has been kidnapped, and you're video chatting. So supportive, Barry. And since when do you have friends?"

Barry: "My mother has been paying them to be my friends for years. I've got receipts."

Megan: "Whatever she pays, it can't be enough. Are you sure they're not imaginary?"

Barry: "Let me make introductions and you can decide for yourself. Dr. Megan Hunt, this is Chuck Mitchell, Andrea Hosinski, and Bob Kilroy. Also present on our end are Dr. Kate Murphy and officer Samantha Baker. Discussion topic of the day, if you care to join in, is crime in America."

Chuck: "I've got the negative position. I'm against it."

Andrea (eye roll): "Chuck..."

Chuck: "I didn't want somebody else taking credit for my ideas. Megan looks kind of hot, I just wanted to jump in before Bob did. (starts singing, to the tune of 'Stacy's Mom') Lacey's mom, has got it going on..."

Bob: "Shut up. You can drool over Dr. Hot Chick later."

Megan: "Dr. Hot Chick? How do you make a compliment sound so demeaning?"

Bob: "Practice. Did I get the name wrong? I'm not great with names. I know it starts with an 'H'..."

Megan (to Barry): "Where did you get these guys? How did you find the only people in the country dorkier and more annoying than you?"

Andrea: "Hey!"

Megan: "Sorry! I've been under some stress today."

Barry: "Chuck is with NSA, Andrea is with DHS. I've worked with them before, and they are pretty resourceful folks. I thought I might turn them loose on this case."

Megan: "I see. Which government agency are you with, Bob? FBI? CIA?"

Bob: "BPS."

Megan: "BPS?"

Bob: "Boston Public Schools. I teach some programming classes at one of the high schools."

Megan (to Barry): "This is your crack team? A high school teacher?"

Bob (imitating Darth Vader): "I find your lack of faith disturbing."

Barry: "Oh, now you've done it. You went and triggered his 'famous quotes' mode. I hope you're well read and up on classic movies. Bob, did we interrupt movie night?"

Bob: "The Last Starfighter. One of my favorites. They listed a Cray computer in the credits."

Megan: "I get that you're asking your black ops friends for help, but where did you meet this guy?"

Barry: "College. We roomed together, hung out all the time in the computer labs. (mutes his microphone, turns with his back to the screen) He's like this total savant data mining guy. Best I've ever seen at spotting patterns in data, and finding significance in seemingly random things. Trust me, you want him on the team. (unmutes)"

Bob: "Anyway, guys, Lacey doesn't have much time – maybe only a day or two at best, so we really have to get cracking."

Megan: "Hold it. What do you mean, only a day or two?"

Bob: "Hasn't anybody talked to her yet?"

Barry: "I don't think so..."

Megan: "What do you mean? Tell me."

Barry: "Well, I called these guys in when I heard about Lacey. Bob is the tactical expert, and is a little apprehensive."

Megan: "Tell me."

Bob: "It was my sit rep, I'll take the heat."

Megan: "Sit rep?"

Bob: "Situation report. Megan, my expectation is that the longevity of a kidnap victim is proportional to the perceived utility to the kidnapper."

Megan: "Obvious. So?"

Bob: "So the primary target was not your daughter, making Lacey expendable. Her diabetes makes her even more of a liability. How much insulin does she have?"

Megan: "If she still has her purse, maybe enough for the week-end."

Bob: "That's a big if. She might be useful to keep the target in line and cooperative, but the kidnappers can get rid of her and still have leverage against the parents. They would certainly not attempt to obtain insulin for her. I just hope they don't decide to use her to send a message to the other parents."

Megan: "Oh, God. You're right. Oh, my baby! I have to find her!"

Bob: "Somebody over there give Dr. Mom a hug or a sedative or something. We don't have time to waste holding her hand."

Megan (angrily): "That's my daughter out there!"

Bob: "Yeah. But I'm not convinced your local constabulary appreciates the full urgency of the situation."

Sam (defensively): "We have everybody we can spare working on this."

Bob: "Did they tell you not to talk to Megan about the possibly shorter time frame for Lacey than for Brittany?"

Sam: "No."

Bob: "Then it's likely they haven't figured it out yet. Or they never thought much of Lacey's chances in the first place. They may think her abductors have gotten rid of her already."

Megan (furiously): "Don't you dare think that about my little girl!"

Bob: "I'm afraid it is not rational to think this will be a survivable event for your daughter."

Megan (screaming): "Shut up! Why are you talking to me this way? What is the matter with you? Are you insane?"

Bob: "Why does everyone always ask me that? Lucky for you, adhering to the rational viewpoint is not a requirement for us insane people. We're crazy enough to think we can find her. I've always wanted to fight a desperate battle against incredible odds."

Barry: "You're the one who's incredibly odd, you gung-ho iguana."

Bob: "Hey! Just for calling me odd, I'm doubling my fee."

Megan: "Gung-ho iguana?"

Barry: "We're trading movie lines. He was watching 'Last Starfighter'. Told you. Keep up."

(to Bob)

"Didn't you already brag to me that you fought a desperate battle like that in those war games ten years ago? You claimed you inspired a rag-tag bunch of Iraqi mis-fits on to victory against the whole U.S. Army."

Chuck: "You're that guy? I've heard about you. I know some folks in a five-sided building that hate your guts."

Bob: "Yeah, but that was just a simulation. This time, it's for real."

Megan: "What on earth are you guys jawing about?"

Barry: "I don't have time to explain everything. Just go with me on this. A guy who can outwit the best planners in the Pentagon is the kind of guy I want on my side."

Bob: "Here's a helpful quote for you: Death is a primitive concept. I prefer to think of it as battling evil in another dimension."

Barry: "Are you watching your movie in another window on your screen?"

Bob: "Might be."

Megan: "My child is missing and you're watching a movie?"

Bob: "Multi-tasking. Relax, I can keep an eye on data analysis, watch a movie, and annoy you all at the same time. Because I'm just that good."

Kate (realization hits): "Holy crap!"

Barry: "What?"

Kate: "It just occurred to me. The inflated egos, the snarky way of talking to Dr. Hunt, the high level of expertise..."

Sam: "So?"

Kate: "Barry's got himself a whole team of Megans! Maybe some of them not as mentally stable, but even more annoying."

(Barry laughs)

Megan: "I'm not sure whether to be insulted or relieved."

Bob: "You're thinking small. Why not both?"

Kate: "I'm actually starting to feel slightly better about this. Only slightly, but it's something."

Barry: "OK, everybody, let's get ready to light this candle. Bob, your guys ready to go?"

Bob: "Should be ready soon. Andrea, can you send me some sample data from previous requests?"

Andrea: "On its way."

Chuck: "Barry, we have reason to believe this is still local, right?"

Barry: "So far, that's the indication."

Chuck: "I've adjusted the conversation analysis programs for the Philly metro area. Or I would have, if they existed. I'll let you know if anything turns up. Unfortunately, the bad guys are likely settled in for the night and won't get chatty until tomorrow."

Barry: "Understood."

Andrea: "Dr. Hunt, you work for the medical examiner's office, is that correct?"

Megan: "Yes."

Andrea: "And your mother was a judge until recently?"

Megan: "Yes. So?"

Andrea: "Sounds to me like this is potential terrorist activity against government officials. That's my story, anyway. Escalates the priority, and provides at least a flimsy excuse for what we're doing. They should be starting to send you guys data in a few minutes, Bob."

Bob: "Cool. Nice, categorizing this as a possible terrorist action. That's why you're the external meatware interface."

Megan: "External meatware interface?"

Barry: "'Meatware' is people. Translation: She actually knows how to be nice to people, and get them to help us."

Megan: "You guys are so weird..."

Bob: "My teams are starting to show up to the computer labs. I'll start them normalizing the data so we can have a consistent search view. They'll work all week-end for the pizza I'm sending them."

Megan: "Teams? Of what? High school kids?"

Bob: "I've got former students in computer science programs at M.I.T. and Carnegie Mellon. They called in all their friends for my impromptu data analysis challenge. You have your CS people, I have mine."

Megan: "CS people?"

Bob: "You have Crime Scene guys, I have Computer Science. Both CS. I'll have a dozen or so at each site."

Megan: "You've got college students on a Friday night?"

Bob: "Of course. They're computer science majors at top-level engineering schools. No class tomorrow. They're free tonight. What else would they be doing?"

Megan: "I don't know, don't college students still go out on dates on Friday nights?"

Bob: "You're adorable. What part of 'computer science majors at top engineering schools' made you think they have dates on Friday nights? Barry, I'm gonna check out for a while. I have teams to organize."

Barry: "You have enough computing power?"

Bob: "I've got 10 terabytes of disk space locked in on my Rackspace account and 512 CPU cores all ready to go, more of everything available if we need it. I know it looks like the team is up against it, things are all wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, but we'll go in there with all we've got. Go Megans."

Barry: "OK, I'll check in with you in an hour or two."

Megan: "What was he babbling about now?"

Barry: "That's the 'win one for the Gipper' speech. If you paid attention to college football, or old sports movies, or Ronald Reagan, you'd know these things."

Megan: "I've heard the phrase 'win one for the Gipper', but I guess I never really knew what it meant. I'm a single mother whose only child is a girl. I probably wouldn't know when the Super Bowl was if it weren't for the parties. Just to take my mind off things, explain."

Barry: "Didn't Kate text you about George Gipp?"

Megan: "Nobody believes that was Kate, and it still doesn't mean I know anything about whoever this George Gipp guy is."

Barry: "George Gipp was a star football player in the early 1900's at Notre Dame under the legendary coach Knute Rockne. He died of strep throat in 1920, not long after the last game of the season. Eight years later, in a game against an undefeated, powerhouse Army squad, Rockne supposedly rallied a mediocre Notre Dame team with a stirring halftime speech about how Gipp, on his deathbed, had asked that someday they go out and win a game in his memory. It's the quintessential emotional appeal in sports history."

Megan: "I never heard of this."

Barry: "There was a movie. George Gipp was Ronald Reagan's most famous role. Before he was cast as president."

Megan: "Dare I ask how the game turned out?"

Barry: "It was a scoreless tie at halftime when Rockne gave the speech; Notre Dame won 12-6. It kept them from being his only team with a losing record. This is Bob's way of reminding us that the game isn't over yet, and he still thinks we can win."

Megan: "Yeah, how exactly does he think we will win?

Barry: "Bob and I came up with an idea. We can't trace the girls by their cell phones, the kidnappers ditched those already. And the ransom call phones won't help. But we figure that the bad guys probably had other phones with them to talk to each other. Even if you don't make calls, any cell that is on makes contact with the tower. It is soon enough that the companies should still have that data available."

Megan: "How does that help?"

Barry: "We're going to try and guess the kidnappers' regular cell phones based on what devices were in communication with nearby towers at the time of the kidnapping. If we can figure that out, maybe we can determine their current location. Of course, since the kidnappers weren't kind enough to inform us which carrier they use, we have to look at all the data from every service provider."

Megan: "You mean every cell phone tower in range of the house?"

Barry: "Yes. The towers in suburban areas have a range of roughly a few miles. Then every cell phone, every tablet, every device that was turned on and communicating with nearby towers. And we're looking at everybody who was nearby after school and during evening commute. That's a lot of people cruising through the area."

Megan: "That's a lot of phones. Kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Barry: "Mythbusters did it. Actual needle in a haystack, I mean. But that's why Bob has a bunch of programmers helping him, and rented time from a server provider. Lack of computer resources will not be a problem. He's buying plenty."

Megan: "That sounds expensive. And he said he was going to double his fee..."

Barry: "He was only pretending to be insulted. Funny thing, when you double zero... still surprisingly affordable."

Megan: "What was Chuck talking about with the conversational analysis?"

Barry: "Story is that NSA or somebody has a big bunch of computers that listen for keywords terrorists might use. Nobody has ever really admitted to the universal wiretap, but I think Chuck is telling us there might be such a thing in reality, and he is going to tune it to see if anything pops for this case. He just has to wait for them to talk to each other, which might be a while."

Megan: "Andrea is the meatware interface?"

Barry: "Among other things, she is a liaison from DHS to phone and data service providers. She knows who to talk to when we need data in a hurry. And she was willing to be flexible on legal niceties."

Megan: "You have quite the group of friends."

Barry: "Mom will be pleased that you think her money is well spent. There's no guarantee, of course, and we would all like nothing better than for Philly PD or the FBI to totally scoop us and rescue the girls sometime in the next 20 minutes. If that doesn't happen, at least my guys are working on a possible plan B."

Megan: "It doesn't sound easy, but it's at least not hopeless."

Barry: "The abductors have clearly planned well against conventional law enforcement ways to track them down. That conference call trick was really slick. We're going to hit them with less conventional approaches. In the mean time, what do we hear from the the beat cops, Sam?"

Sam: "Ransom call phone is a dead end, but we expected that. We're trying to run down information about the platinum shipment, but it's a little slow going. There are companies we'd like to talk to, but it's difficult finding anybody on a Friday night."

Kate: "No doubt that was part of the plan. Maybe something will turn up."

Sam: "Bud and the guys are going to try and interview people who work at Mr. Carter's firm. Maybe something will turn up."

(end scene)

Scene: Bud and other police entering an apartment. Usual stuff of "clearing" rooms, etc.

Bud: "Nobody home. Get some CS techs in here. I want to know where these guys shop, where they eat, where they go drinking. I want to know how often they get up at night to go to the bathroom. And I want to know yesterday."

(to no one in particular)

"Lacey, just hold on. We are gonna get these guys."

(end scene)

Scene: ME's office, closing in on midnight.

Bob: "Hey, Barry! Anybody awake?"

Barry: "Yeah. What's up?"

Bob: "We've downloaded most of the data. We're normalizing the data from the different service carriers, and should be able to start search runs soon. 'Wewease the secwet weapon!'"

Megan: "What?"

Barry: "Quote from 'An American Tail'. We're going to find your little mouse."

Chuck: "Good luck. So far the only hits I've gotten trace back to the families and police. And some airhead bride-to-be who spent an hour with her cousin Brittany discussing whether white gold or platinum wedding bands were more fashionable. If you catch these guys and need to force them to talk, I can make them crack in no time."

Barry: "Sorry, Chuck."

Bob: "We'll be at it a while yet. We're starting to wade through logs for what looks to be about 50,000 devices."

Megan: "That sounds like a lot."

Bob: "It is. First, we'll eliminate everybody who stayed nearby for more than an hour or so after the abduction. After that, we'll pull the data for towers near the truck stop at the time of the ransom call and see how many matches we get. It might have been easier without Friday afternoon rush hour and kids coming home from school in the same time window, but we'll narrow it down. Then we'll rank them by likelihood."

Barry: "Keep us posted on your progress."

Bob: "If these guys don't bring those girls back soon, they're going to have to answer to the Coca Cola company."

Barry: "Dr. Strangelove?"

Bob: "Bingo. Movie lines for 400, Alex."

Barry: "We'll make them remember, forever, the night they played the Megans."

Bob: "Um, 'Remember the Titans'? By the way, I've got an idea for the locals. Did this pizza place use those lighted signs on top of their delivery cars?"

Megan: "Yes."

Bob: "I'm thinking they might have stolen one earlier in order to look innocuous at the house."

Sam: "That's possible."

Bob: "They might have stolen a car to use in the crime, then ditched it later. Strikes me that the perfect place to leave it would be the parking lot of one of these pizza stores. You could call around and see if there are any cars sitting around that nobody can explain."

Sam: "It might be worth checking out. I'll get somebody on it."

Curtis: "Ethan and I can call up all the pizza places. If we get a hit, he and I will process the car ourselves."

Sam: "That would be great. I'd like to score some points for the good guys before the night is over."

Bob: "Nothing is over until we decide it is. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no."

Megan: "When the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"

Barry: "That's from 'Animal House'."

Megan: "My baby's life is hanging in the balance, and perhaps her best chance is in the hands of a couple of raving lunatics swapping movie trivia. Lacey may survive this, but I won't."

Bob: "Next time your daughter is kidnapped, plan ahead and get better heroes. Leave everything to the last minute like this, the big-name superheroes will already be booked."

Megan: "Good idea. I'll put the Justice League on retainer. Anything to avoid you guys again."

(end scene)

Scene: Parking lot of a pizza place.

Ethan: "Think we'll get anything from this?"

Curtis: "We might, but these guys probably never drove it to wherever they are keeping Lacey. We might find out nothing more than that the actual owner of the car took it to the mall yesterday."

Ethan: "That doesn't sound very helpful."

Curtis: "We are still going to do this, because you never know. Kidnapper might have dropped something, one of the girls might have left a clue, who knows? At least we might be able to collect trace and DNA to tie the kids to the bad guys."

Ethan: "So you think this won't do much to solve the case, just help us prosecute after..."

Curtis: "Don't even go there. We are gonna find Lacey and she will be just fine."

Ethan: "I hope so. It's just that we are the ME's office, and we don't usually see evidence until... you know."

Curtis: "You're just a ray of sunshine, aren't you? We are doing this to show support for Megan and Lacey. The police department might not get their best CS techs out late on a Friday night, but I will go over every scrap of evidence I can find. I'm starting to think I should have left you behind."

Ethan: "No, no, I'm all over this. I'm just scared for Lacey."

Curtis: "We all are. Do your job and maybe we can find something that will help her."

Ethan: "On it."

(end scene)

Scene: Back at ME's office. Roughly 3 am.

Megan: "That pizza delivery sign was a good idea. I hope Curtis and Ethan find something.

Barry: "I don't know if it will be immediately useful. Most of the trace will belong to the owner of the car. What kind of car was it?"

Sam: "Economy sedan."

Barry: "Good."

Megan: "How is that good?"

Barry: "It confirms that this is likely a small operation, maybe only a couple of guys. Any likely suspects from the employee lists at Mr. Carter's workplace or the delivery firm?"

Sam: "Two guys who didn't show up for work today. Stan Yeager and Bill McCarthy. We've already sent officers to their residences. Bud says nobody home at either place. Their regular cell phones have been turned off. CS techs are looking over everything, but it might take them a while."

Barry: "That's OK, we expected they'd have phones just for this operation. Did the pizza place have security footage?"

Sam: "Yeah, but it wasn't very usable. And it only showed one guy get out of the car."

Barry: "Smart. They probably transferred vehicles somewhere else, and only one ditched the stolen car. Less likely to attract attention."

Sam: "Ethan is on his way back with some trace. They'll try to match hairs to Brittany and Lacey. They pulled some prints, and we are trying to get prints from the suspects' work areas to see if there are matches."

Barry: "That will help identify them, and it might convince them they won't get away. Doesn't help much in finding them right now, though."

Sam: "Curtis is staying with the car to look for anything else unusual."

Barry: "Good luck to him."

Sam: "I'm going to go home and try and rest for a few hours, maybe shower and change. I was at the end of a 12-hour shift when this started. We're not expecting much action the rest of the night. This might go on for quite some time. I'll be back in the morning."

Megan: "Thanks, Sam."

Kate: "How are you holding up, Megan?"

Megan: "Not too well. No rest for me. My baby is in trouble, and I can't do anything about it. It helps having my friends around to support me. Barry, too."

Barry: "Barry, too? You're too kind. All right, we know you're worried about Lacey, and you have every right to be. I'd estimate that you should be about the third most worried person in Philadelphia tonight."

Megan: "Who could possibly be more worried than I am?"

Barry: "The kidnappers, duh. Maybe they aren't, but they should be."

(end scene)

Scene: ME's office, early morning

Bob: "Ding ding ding! Barry!"

Barry: "What do you have for me?"

Bob: "I was eyeballing some of the best candidates."

Barry: "Get anywhere?"

Bob: "Maybe. I was thinking they might be holed up in a foreclosed house somewhere. Like a subdivision that was going up when the bottom fell out of the market."

Barry: "That would make sense. The banks are still sorting through some of that. You could take over a vacant property that had only vacant lots or partial starts on both sides. Nobody would track comings and goings in a mostly vacant neighborhood."

Bob: "Exactly. So, I found a cell phone that was near the truck stop at the right time, near the Carter house at the right time, and Andrea got me the current location. Precisely the kind of place I was expecting. There's another phone in the area that looks to have been near the Carter house at the right time, too."

Barry: "That sounds pretty good."

Bob: "Sounded good to me, too. Might be time for a little recon. I'll text you an approximate address. Play like a champion today."

Megan (entering): "What's going on? Do you have any information yet?"

Barry: "Maybe. I thought I might check it out."

Megan: "I'm going with you."

Kate (entering, yawning): "What's going on?"

Megan: "Barry's buddies have a possible hit. We're going to have a look-see."

Kate: "I'll drive."

Megan: "I can't ask you to come with us."

Kate: "You can't stop me, either. You may be Lacey's mother, but she and I were pretty tight for a while, too."

Bob: "Bye, bye, boys! Have fun storming the castle!"

(they head for the door)

Megan: "I got that one! 'The Princess Bride'."

Barry: "Congrats."

Megan: "I'm starting to catch on when he throws those things out there. I must be losing my mind from lack of sleep."

Barry: "He takes some getting used to. It's like getting a history lesson from the Guardian of Forever."

Megan: "The Guardian of Forever?"

Barry: "Star Trek reference. Not important. Say that it's like recording the entire day of CNN and watching all the bits and pieces at 300 times normal speed."

Megan: "So which one of you came up with this cell phone tracking idea?"

Barry: "Both of us together, although he's definitely been doing the heavy lifting so far. I was wishing for a way to track the cell phones, and Bob started in with data mining. We start bouncing ideas around, building and refining, and at the end it's really hard to tell who contributed what. It was that way in college, too. We worked on a lot of projects together."

Kate: "Well, I hope you both get an 'A' on this one."

Barry: "So do I."

(end scene)

Scene: In front of a new, but rather vacant-looking house, early morning. A van is parked in the driveway area.

Kate: "Well, what do you guys think? It looks like a good candidate, but we can't go around kicking in every door in Philadelphia. I don't think I can get a warrant based on telling a judge that some high school teacher in Boston has a hunch this is the right place."

Megan: "But my baby might be in there. I've got to know. We could just knock. Maybe I could tell them I'm part of a voter registration drive or something. If somebody answers the door to a supposedly vacant house, at least we can have the police run them in for trespassing. I'm going up to the door."

Kate: "All right. We'll come with you."

Barry: "Not me."

Megan: "Wuss."

Barry: "One does not simply walk into Mordor."

Megan: "You're channeling Bob."

Barry: "That happens when we hang out together. Somebody needs to stay out here and call for back-up if you get in trouble. And the two of you look less menacing by yourselves than if I am with you. There's a chance you might fool them."

Megan: "Suit yourself, Mr. Hero. I'll go rescue my daughter without you."

Kate: "Megan, this is just to take a quick look. Let the police do the rescuing..."

(The two women exit the car, Megan leading the charge, Kate trying to keep up.)

Barry: "This is not going to be good."

(He scrunches down in car, trying not to be seen.)

Megan strides up to the front door and starts knocking. Eventually, a man answers. The house is empty of furniture and such.

Stan: "We don't want any of what you're selling, and we're not donating to any causes."

Megan (trying to see behind him without looking obvious): "Good morning. We're from the League of Women Voters. We're trying to register new voters today. If I could have just a few minutes of your time, we could get you all set up."

Stan: "I just moved here, and I don't have a new driver's license with this address on it. Just leave me the forms, and I'll send them in later."

Megan (rummaging in purse): "Oh, you know, I don't seem to have the forms with me. I can be such a ditz."

Stan (suspiciously): "Brochure then?"

Megan: "Dopey me. Kate, why don't you see if I left them in the car?"

Stan (grabbing Megan's arm): "I'm afraid I've been impolite and failed to invite you in. Why don't the two of you come inside and we can talk?"

Kate: "I can see you're busy. We'll just come back another day..."

Stan (tightening his grip, pulls out a gun): "It wasn't really a polite request, if you know what I mean. Step inside."

He looks warily around the street and front of the house as the women reluctantly go in. Kate pantomimes a gun behind her back, hoping to signal Barry what is going on.

(Cut to view of car outside)

Barry: "Oh, crap. I love it when a plan comes together. Hope Bud has some free time."

(dials phone)

Barry (on phone): "Morning, Bud! Good news/bad news. I think we've located the kidnappers. Bad news is you can add Megan and Kate to the hostage list. Think you and a few friends could find the time to swing by here and maybe raise the good guy count a little? 7271 Azalea Lane, plate on the van parked here is Alpha Bravo Charlie two-one-five-nine."

(listening)

"I know it's a bad idea to just walk up to a house with armed criminals in it. That's why I stayed in the car and called for back-up."

(listening again)

"When has that ever worked? When you come up with an idea how to make Megan Hunt behave, you go ahead and try it. I'll be sure to mention it prominently in your eulogy. (sighs) Meanwhile, when you give mine, at least you can tell everyone that I tried to rescue her. Gotta go. Listen in if you want."

(Cut to interior of house)

Stan: "Bill! These two chicks were nosing around outside. I think they're up to something."

Bill (from basement): "What was your first clue?"

Stan: "They said they were here to register us to vote, and they didn't have any forms."

Bill: "I've got a better clue for you, moron. This address just got broadcast on the scanner. They're cops."

Kate: "We're not police! We're not armed! We're just with the coroner's office."

Stan (raises gun): "How convenient. At least they won't have any problems ID'ing the bodies."

Bill (coming up the stairs with the two girls): "Don't shoot them yet, moron. We have to find out how they found us, or we'll never get out clean. Grab the toolbox, the duct tape, and the rope and let's get everybody out to the van."

Lacey: "Mom!"

Megan: "Are you OK honey?"

Lacey: "So far."

Stan: "Shut up. No talking."

Bill: "Mom? We snatched a cop's kid? Genius!"

Stan: "I didn't know she would be there. We had to do it this week-end before the platinum ships out. Little help? I can't carry all this and hold a gun on them at the same time."

Bill: "Blondie! You get this stuff (points to toolbox, etc.) and everybody head out to the van. Anybody tries anything, Mom's kid gets it first."

They all go to the utility van parked in the driveway. Bill opens the driver door, Stan herds the rest to the back.

Stan (watching the hostages, not looking inside): "All right, ladies, no funny stuff, just get in..."

He opens the rear door of the vehicle. Barry is inside, and brings a tire iron down on his gun hand, causing him to drop it.

Stan: "Ahhh!"

Kate sees her opportunity, and smashes Stan aside the head with the toolbox, causing him to go down. Barry dives to the ground, grabbing the gun. Megan yanks the girls toward her, taking away Bill's shot at them. Bill tries to come around to the back of the van, but Barry has a clear shot under it. He shoots Bill in the ankle, causing him to fall, then shoots him in the shoulder. Brittany shrieks from the gunshots. Barry hurries over and kicks Bill's gun away, then stands where he can watch both men, gun drawn.

Megan: "Oh, I was so afraid I'd lost you.."

Lacey: "I was sure glad to see you. How did you find us?"

Megan: "That was Barry."

Barry: "Don't forget all the Megans. I had a lot of help."

Lacey: "Megans?"

Barry: "It's kind of a long story. We can go in to the office and you can video chat with the whole team if you want. If they are still awake."

(to Kate)

"Nice shot there with the toolbox."

Kate: "I took advantage of the opportunity. (smiles) My self-proclaimed boyfriend was such a coward he chose to hide in the car instead of coming inside and protecting us. Sometimes women just have have to step up and show what we're made of."

Barry: "We might have to make you one of the Megans."

Kate: "I think I already have enough Megans to deal with, thank you."

Megan: "Hey!"

Police and emergency vehicles start to show up. Bud arrives on the scene.

Barry: "Look, the cavalry has arrived. Hey, Bud, we have a couple of packages for you! Sorry I didn't wrap them."

Bud: "I see that, no surprise, you guys have already taken matters into your own hands instead of waiting for us. Where did you get the gun this time?"

Barry: "Would you believe a yard sale down the street?"

Bud: "No."

Barry: "All right, truth is these guys just gave us their theirs. Philadelphia has a very considerate class of criminals these days."

Bud: "That's why we're the city of brotherly love. I'll note your statement in my report; maybe the tourism bureau can make something of it. These guys just politely handed over their weapons, huh?"

Barry: "Kate and I may have encouraged them a little."

Bud: "Why don't you leave the rest of the encouragement to the unis, and hand over the guns for the evidence locker?"

Barry: "You guys sure get bent out of shape when I borrow a firearm."

(He hands over the gun he was holding and retrieves his cell phone from the van, ends the call.)

Bud (turning to Megan): "Now, as for you, Dr. Hunt... (much angrier) What is the matter with you? Have you lost your mind? You know you're supposed to wait for an escort in a situation like this."

Megan: "That was my daughter in there, Bud. Waiting was not an option."

Bud (earnestly): "There were two guys with guns, Megan."

Barry: "But we had Megan. Hardly seems like a fair fight, does it? Did you want us to wait for more bad guys next time to even up the odds?"

Bud: "I wouldn't suggest that to the review board if I were you."

Kate: "We're all off the clock, Bud. Just acting as private citizens and concerned parents. Strictly self-defense. Our side didn't even have any guns. To begin with. Just Megans."

Bud: "Pretty sure that counts as a weapon of mass destruction. And don't think I haven't noticed your role in this. At least Barry started off waiting in the car, and called for back-up. I hope you and Megan are proud of yourselves that you behaved worse than Barry."

Megan: "We're sorry already. You don't have to be so mean about it."

Bud: "Believe me, when I heard the gunshots on the phone, I was imagining a lot worse than you being yelled at. Is everybody OK?"

Megan: "A little shaken up, but no injuries."

Bud: "Once the EMT's are done with the more serious injuries, they can give all of you the once-over. Brittany, here's a phone. I think there are a couple of very anxious people waiting to hear from you."

(Brittany takes the phone and dials.)

Brittany: "Mom? We're OK. Lacey's mom found us. The police are here now..."

(end scene)

Scene: ME's office. Video chat with "the Megans".

Megan: "Lacey, there are some people here for you to meet. That's Andrea, Chuck, and Bob."

Andrea: "Hi, Lacey! Glad you're safe."

Bob: "Couldn't you guys have driven a little faster? I had the 7-8 a.m. time slot in the pool."

Megan: "You were placing bets on my daughter's rescue?"

Bob: "At least we were all betting that she would actually be rescued. Slightly later than I scheduled it..."

Megan: "You scheduled it?"

Bob: "Of course. Right there in the ol' daily planner. 7-8 a.m., send hostage rescue team. 8-10 a.m., acknowledge accolades, dump Gatorade on the coach. Way to go, Megans!"

Megan: "I'm not going to live that down, am I?"

Bob: "I was thinking of printing up T-shirts..."

Chuck: "Hey, Lacey's kind of cute. Makes it all worthwhile. How long until you turn 18?"

Lacey: "I've got a few years yet."

Chuck: "I can fix that, you know. Complete false identity. Come away with me, my darling."

Lacey: "I think I'd like to finish high school."

Chuck: "I can handle that, too. You could skip all those boring classes and just get the diploma."

Megan: "Forget it, Chuck. Not happening."

Chuck: "Lacey, couldn't you have taken after your father's side or something? Go hang out with Barry, maybe you'll lighten up a little. Call me in a couple of years. Or just mention my name and say the phrase 'kill the president' on the phone. I'll get the message."

Barry (firmly): "Good-bye, Chuck. And thanks."

Andrea: "I think I'll head home and take care of my own daughter. You guys can deal with the meatware yourselves. Ineptly, as usual."

Megan: "Give the family hugs from us. Thank you so much."

Barry: "Tell your teams thanks from us, Bob."

Bob: "I already told them we won and sent them home. Otherwise they would be using my server account all week-end to cheat at online games."

Lacey: "I wanted to tell them thanks from me."

Bob: "Send me a video and I'll forward it on."

Megan: "They just worked all night for free?"

Bob: "Not exactly free. There was pizza. It was a cool project, an interesting challenge, and they might get some good references if they decide to apply for jobs with any kind of security agency after graduation. Listing the four of us wouldn't hurt their chances. (considers) Much."

Lacey: "How many guys did you have working on this?"

Bob: "About a dozen at each site. Spending a sleepless night thinking of you. You little heartbreaker."

Lacey (giggles): "You're funny. You and Barry are a lot alike."

Bob: "That's totally uncalled for, considering how I cracked the case and everything."

Barry: "It was a major compliment, and therefore completely untrue. I'm getting way ahead of you in the number of people rescued, too. Pretty soon, you're going to need to save the Earth from an alien invasion or something just to catch up."

Bob: "That's on my schedule for next August, provided the aliens show up on time. I think I should get partial credit on this one for figuring out where the kidnappers were. And the savage nature of your assistance should count against your score. Running around shooting people. Most inelegant. Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."

Barry: "You're jealous because I have done brilliantly in the field and you know you could never hope to match me. Just because you're bound by the Three Laws of Robotics doesn't mean I can't shoot a bad guy once in a while."

Bob: "Foolish human. Any more from you, and I'm going to tell them all the sappy details of your impassioned plea for help last night."

Megan: "Impassioned plea?"

Bob: "More emotional than the BFF in a chick flick. It was positively disgusting to watch. Grown man like that, practically blubbering."

Barry: "I was not. And if I offended your sensibilities so much, why did you work so hard to help?"

Bob: "It was an inherently interesting problem in data analytics. And there was $92 in the pool."

Barry: "I thought it was because you're a rank sentimentalist. And I had a noble cause."

Bob (Bogart impression): "I'm not much good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of..."

Barry (interrupting): "Bob?"

Bob: "What?"

Barry: "We were up all night, we're tired, you can stream your highlights from Netflix another time."

Bob: "If that's the way you're going to be, I'll just go take a nap. So long, and thanks for all the fish."

(he drops his video connection)

Megan: "Thanks for all the fish?"

Lacey: "That's from 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'. I read that for school. Kind of weird, but funny. Just like Barry and his friends."

Megan: "He's even crazier than you, but he does kind of grow on a person."

Barry: "Hmm. Usually it's the opposite. Most people get dizzy being around him for long, and just want it to stop. Not many put up with it. If it weren't for me and later, his girlfriend Katie, his best friend in college would probably have been the university mainframe. He was very fortunate I agreed to room with him after freshman year."

Megan: "Hard to say who ended up best and worst on that deal. You can be rather trying at times, yourself."

Barry: "You'll make me blush."

Megan: "Well, in this instance, you were definitely worth any and all prior aggravation. I might even upgrade your status to 'potentially tolerable'."

Barry: "Be still, my heart."

Lacey: "Thanks for all you and everybody else did for me, Barry."

Megan: "Second that. Usually I'm investigating and providing answers to people, and this time there wasn't much for me to do. It was tremendously nerve-wracking just waiting around."

Barry: "Once I explained things, the whole group was pretty determined to keep this out of your wheelhouse, Megan."

Megan: "My wheelhouse?"

Barry: "While I was most certainly not blubbering, I did try to fire up the team with an emotional appeal. My version of a Gipper speech. I might have mentioned that no mother should ever have to be in the position of performing an autopsy on her own kid."

Megan: "Dear God, that is a terrible thought. You have a horrifying mind."

Barry: "That was the incentive that kept the Megans energized all night. It's why Andrea spent the night at work pulling data from phone providers instead of with her family, and Bob was poring over piles of data manually once the computers narrowed it down some."

Kate: "I wouldn't have wanted that autopsy, either. It was bad enough doing Dani."

Barry: "The situation was scary enough the way it was. We didn't want to burden you with that realization."

Megan: "Thanks for that. Although now I'm going to have nightmares for at least a month of having Lacey on my slab."

Barry: "The important thing is, you get to wake up. And so does she."

Lacey: "Rather than wake up, I think I want to go home and sleep until Monday."

Megan: "OK, sweetie, we'll get you home and into bed."

(They head out.)

Kate (tired sigh): "I usually like being shown an exciting time on a Friday night, but I think this was overdoing it."

Barry: "I vote Lacey spends her next sleep-over in protective custody. I would find it much less stressful."

Kate: "You and your team did work pretty hard, and under a lot of pressure. I see I'm not the only one in the office with a soft spot for Lacey."

Barry: "I didn't want all my parenting advice to go to waste. I do like the sound of that sleep until Monday plan, though. Kate, do you think you could get crime to take a couple days off?"

Kate: "No problem, Barry, I'll just post a few flyers around asking the criminals not to commit any homicides for a couple of days while we take our naps."

Barry: "That's why you're such a good boss. Always thinking of her employees."

Kate: "I think I'll go home and try and get some rest myself."

Barry: "Good idea. You look like someone who has been up all night worrying."

Kate: "You really know how to sweet-talk a woman, don't you Barry?"

Barry: "Hey, I had to hang out with Bob all night. There are certain side effects. Check with your doctor for details."

Kate: "Why can't you guys just pay or be paid a simple compliment?"

Barry: "What's the fun in that? Offer a compliment and I might think both women in the office classify me as potentially tolerable. Scary."

Kate: "I'll watch myself. By the way, Bob must have blown through a fair amount of cash on that server stuff."

Barry: "I don't think it was that bad. A few thousand, max."

Kate: "Get me a receipt. If I can't get department reimbursement, the Carters will certainly pay for it. They were ready to offer a pretty big reward."

Barry: "Not really his style. Let it go."

Kate: "Oh, please, he's a high school teacher. The Carters can afford it, and they'll be happy to pay him back."

Barry: "He's a high school teacher now, because that's what he wants to do. It won't break him, and money just leaves a trail he would prefer nobody follow."

Kate: "Sounds mysterious. Did he used to work for one of the three-letter agencies?"

Barry: "Other than some consulting for them after 9/11, no. He used to do this kind of thing for big companies. There was a lot of demand for his services. You've seen why."

Kate: "At least let me get them all a commendation from the department or something."

Barry: "If you want to thank my Megans, let them stay out of sight. No publicity, no commendations, no reward money, no interviews. As little of this gets presented as evidence at trial as possible, particularly since some of the things we did were of dubious legality. My team likes to be invisible."

Kate: "Seriously?"

Barry: "Make this a story about the determined mother who found the kidnappers and marched up to their door and took them on. That should play well in the press."

Kate: "You're passing up a chance to be a hero on the TV news?"

Barry: "The TV story works well with you and Megan foiling the bad guys and rescuing the daughter. You were at odds when you dated her ex and threatened to usurp her role as a mother, but the two of you united to save the little girl. Two mama grizzlies fighting for the cub. Touching story."

Kate: "But it was your guys who found her, and I seem to remember that at one point the four of us had all been captured, and you were the one doing most of the fighting for the cub. Megan almost got us killed. People should know what you did."

Barry: "Kate, do you have political ambitions beyond this office?"

Kate: "What? Why would you ask that?"

Barry: "Off the record, answer the question."

Kate: "I wouldn't be opposed to a higher office if the right opportunity came along."

Barry: "A well-crafted answer. We both know you would really like to move up if you get the chance."

Kate: "What does that have to do with anything?"

Barry: "Which is a better narrative for your political future – you reached out to a prickly personality with whom you had clashed in the past to rescue a couple of endangered teens, or you utilized a bunch of black ops shadowy government types to bypass a regular police investigation?"

Kate: "I think the answer to that one is pretty obvious."

Barry: "If you bring my team into this, the tinfoil hat conspiracy nuts will be all over you in a minute. You and Megan can be fuzzy on the details, take the credit and wear the stylish outfits for TV."

Kate: "We all know that if anybody in the office deserves the limelight in this case, it's you. You're giving that up for my political career?"

Barry: "I'm not against furthering the career ambitions of a politician I can respect. Some of us would prefer to blend into the background. It's like working undercover. Let word get around how we did this, next time it might not work."

Kate: "I suppose that makes sense. I'll talk to Megan and get our story straight. Sometime, though, I think I'm going to want to hear some of the stories about you and your friends."

Barry: "I might be able to come up with a few that aren't classified. College pranks, bachelor parties and weddings, camping trips. See you Monday, or whenever we can manage to wake up."

Kate: "Bye. Take the rest of the night off."

Barry: "It's almost 10 o'clock in the morning!"

Kate: "I didn't promise there would be any night left, I just said you could have it off."

Barry: "You're too good to me."

(end scene.)

Scene: Lacey's room. Megan tucks her in.

Megan: "Try and get some rest, and we'll do something fun tonight."

Lacey (sleepily): "As long as we don't call and order a pizza. I really don't want to see another pizza delivery guy for a while."

Megan (smiling): "You've got it, kid. Oh, and get your beauty sleep. Kate texted me that we have requests for interviews. You're going to be on TV."

(She gets up, walks to the door. Before shutting the door, stands and watches her daughter a few moments. Fade out.)

(end scene)