- We might be owned. - Dark Army.
The world's most dangerous hacker crew.
They think the FBI's even snooping around,
and it gets ugly.
They keep asking me questions.
I'm gonna keep telling your story,
but if shit goes down and I get busted,
I'm not gonna get locked up.
My husband will return soon,
and this'll all be over.
He wants to hack Steel Mountain's
climate control system.
[dramatic music]
Take care of yourself.
There will be fallout from this,
and I'm gonna tell them...
I used your computer,
so tell them whatever you want.
The server keeps crashing. I don't know how to stop it.
We need to find someone who can do
that migration thing he keep talking about.
You hack people. I hack time.
[speaking a Chinese language]
Someone's closing in on us.
I have to find out what they know.
My online business is very important to me.
I prefer discretion.
What exactly are you doing?
I'm hacking the FBI.
[dark classical music]
¶ ¶
[keyboard keys clacking]
¶ ¶
Step one: Identify the target and its flaws.
There are always flaws.
I learned that early in life.
My first hack, the local library,
a vulnerable FTP server in its as400.
A far cry from the Android zero days I'm using
to own the FBI standard-issue smartphone.
The library was a test to see
if I could even get into the system.
I've since set greater goals.
For instance, step two:
Build malware and prepare an attack.
At my fingertips, the zero day is wrapped in code
like a Christmas present, then becomes an exploit,
the programmatic expression of my will.
I live for this shit.
¶ ¶
Step three: A reverse shell, two-stage exploit.
The ideal package.
Load the malware into a femtocell delivery system,
my personal cell tower
that'll intercept all mobile data.
Similar to my first time,
when I found myself staring at late book fees,
employee names, member addresses.
¶ ¶
Everything was revealed.
The secret of the perfect hack?
Make it infallible.
Hidden within the kernel is a logic bomb,
malicious code designed to execute
under circumstances I've programmed.
Should the FBI take an image of the femtocell,
all memory will self-corrupt, or "explode."
Step four: Write the script.
Why do it myself?
Because that's how I learned, and I know
exactly what, when, and how it's going to run.
I didn't do anything harmful my first time.
Just looked around.
But I felt so powerful.
11 years old and in complete control
of the Washington Township Public Library.
Today is different.
I hacked the world.
Final step: Launch the attack.
Once I do, I'll own the Android phone
of every FBI agent in that building.
I'll own Evil Corp's network, applications, everything.
Domain Admin.
This, the thrill of pwning a system,
this is the greatest rush.
God access.
The feeling never gets old.
¶ ¶
I'm gonna need to talk to the old sys admin.
The old IT guy,
set this up.
There's an encrypted database on the old server
I'm gonna need access to.
You wanna talk to RT?
If that's his name.
I'll talk to Ray,
see what's what.
[door clicks open and shut]
[sweeping orchestral music]
[keyboard keys clacking]
¶ ¶
[indistinct chatter]
¶ ¶
Jeez Louise, look at that.
[door slams]
[sighs]
What the hell are you doing here?
How did you get in?
Penetration test. You failed.
I'm done anyway.
What is this?
I haven't seen you in five weeks
and now you're just in my home?
Leave. Now.
Okay, if you want the FBI to find out you were the one
who illegally put a CD into a drive at Allsafe
that set off the crime of the millennium,
be my guest.
- He told you? - Yeah.
And he cleared Allsafe's logs to cover your ass,
but now with the FBI's Five/Nine investigation,
this could all lead back to both you and Elliot.
Why didn't he say anything?
Because that's what he does,
and now it's time for you to help him.
What exactly do you want from me?
[dramatic music]
¶ ¶
Before I tell you,
I need you to keep reminding yourself that this is simple.
Your gut instinct is gonna be screaming a big fucking no,
and I need you to suppress that instinct
and remind yourself that this is simple.
If this little preface was supposed to inspire confidence,
you're failing miserably.
I'll give you a small device,
which you'll take to work,
drop at the Fed's office on the 23rd floor,
and walk away.
Simple.
Here it comes,
that gut instinct I was talking about.
Are you out of your mind?
You want me to hack the FBI?
What possible good would that even do?
Once we have access to their system,
we can make all of the bullshit go away.
Any evidence they have on you and Elliot,
gone.
I'll take my chances.
¶ ¶
Fine, play it how you wanna play it,
but I hope for Elliot and your sake,
no one else knows about that CD.
¶ ¶
[door clatters open, bell jingles]
¶ ¶
[exhales deeply]
This is not our usual time nor place to meet.
It was very risky for me to come here.
Talk to me. What's happened?
[sighs]
I don't wanna do this anymore.
I lied to the FBI,
and they know it.
They're not stupid.
They saw me sweat.
Now my phone is tapped.
Anytime I make phone calls,
I hear interference, voices.
[bell jingles]
[sighs] I mean, who are we protecting?
Some scrawny kid in a hoodie?
Part of our agreement was
that you would not ask any questions.
You're right. You're right.
I just...
I know someone is watching me.
I can tell.
On the train, at work, in my apartment.
How do you know?
I just do.
I feel it, you know?
Thank you
for sharing this with me.
I promise you everything will be okay.
[elevator bell dings]
Hello, sir. You can't be here.
- I work here. - Not on this floor.
Can you help this guy out?
We really need to close off this elevator to non-bureau.
Firefighters are already battling fierce blazes...
I hate coming here. Security's so lax.
I'm still in the middle of this deep dive
on the hard drive reports that came back from Forensics.
I had that dream again.
Except this time, I was walking down a steep hill,
and at the bottom was that same man
wearing a surgical mask.
He never tries to kill you?
Nope. Just staring.
You really don't dream, do you?
Never interested me.
You read Santiago's email?
Let me guess: You're excited.
Fuck yeah, I'm excited. We get to go to China.
Yeah, well, just so you know, I throw up on planes, so...
bring a raincoat and nose plugs.
Any updates on her?
Surveillance said she mostly stayed home
and then went to a yoga class.
Then they lost her again.
I'm telling you, it's hard to track people in New York.
Where's the she-devil?
Don't know.
Something's wrong.
Darlene's never quiet unless...
Did the malware not check out?
It's Angela.
You need to talk to her.
About what?
With the FBI at Evil Corp, physical security is madness.
We don't have time to prep a new social engineering attack,
so I went to her... She can't be involved.
What the hell else do you want me to do?
I am telling you, it's a fortress.
There's no way in there right now,
and it's as if we have a lot of time to wait.
- Darlene's right. - I'm not doing it.
Who better than someone you trust?
I'm not discussing Angela with you.
She's our only option.
She's not an option.
Think of something else.
I did my part.
Now you do yours.
Make this happen.
[woman speaking a Chinese language over P.A. system]
[indistinct chatter]
[footsteps tapping]
Minister Zhang, it's a pleasure to meet you.
The pleasure is mine, Mr. Santiago.
Welcome to China.
Oh, here.
[camera shutters clicking]
Let's retire into the forum, where we can talk in private.
As you'll see in your escorted tour
of Beijing's backup facility,
our attack was not climate control
like your raspberry pi.
Our backup tapes were degaussed.
We'd like to visit
all four of China's backup sites.
Of course.
And be granted access
to the encrypted E Corp servers.
Absolutely.
Excellent.
Now...
there is another subject to discuss.
We understand it is a delicate subject.
The Dark Army?
We'd like to review all intelligence you have on them.
It's just that...
some of us think that, you know,
they as a... as a known malevolent hacker group
might have...
Of course.
We'll get you all of our dossiers
with any intel we might have.
You're schedule to visit our Beijing facility
on Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. sharp.
Enjoy yourselves. Take in the city.
Monday night, I wish to host you at my home.
A reception to celebrate our...
collaborative effort.
[soft dramatic music]
¶ ¶
[metallic rattling]
¶ ¶
[baby babbles]
[rattling]
[basketballs dribbling, indistinct chatter]
You can't just do it yourself?
No, not without access to the database.
But you're the best.
The master.
Ain't that true?
[sighs] You gotta understand.
I hesitate because RT and I didn't part ways
on the best of terms.
Yeah, come on!
I wouldn't ask if there were another way.
You're wasting time, time we don't have.
You need to call Angela.
Maxine, what's wrong, girl?
Shh, don't make me think the worst now.
Is she okay?
[sighs]
If you say you need him,
you must need him.
I'll have RT stop by.
Son, y'all know y'all can't jump.
[singing in Danish]
[baby fusses]
[indistinct chatter on radio]
[sighs] I tracked the last package
to the Midtown post office it was mailed from.
However, there's no evidence on the security footage
of anyone mailing it from inside the station.
It was probably dropped in a nearby collection box.
And I have a contact attempting to trace the phone calls,
but he needs more time.
I'll keep you updated as always.
Good night, ma'am.
And Kareem?
I did as you asked.
[grunts]
[muffled speech]
[soft dramatic music]
¶ ¶
[door clicks shut]
Framed burglary.
Cops'll likely go after
an ex-con who lives on the same floor.
MO matches other B&Es the guy's suspected of.
¶ ¶
[heartbeat thumping slowly]
Tell me...
tell me about his death.
[glass shatters]
[fabric ripping]
Succinylcholine.
Injected as ordered.
And he didn't feel anything?
He was completely paralyzed.
¶ ¶
[heartbeat thumping slowly]
¶ ¶
It'll appear there was a struggle.
He pulled his gun in self-defense.
The attacker got him first.
Two gunshot wounds: One to the chest...
[silenced gunshots] Another to the head.
Did he look at you
before you finished the job?
Yes.
Ma'am, if I may,
why drug him?
It would have been just as easy to shoot and leave.
Killing a man instantly
robs him of explanation.
He has no time to process his final moments.
Now, even though he was paralyzed,
his mind was still able to understand
why his life was ending.
[heartbeat thumping slowly]
We let him die with answers.
Otherwise...
We're nothing but ruthless murderers.
Thank you.
[door clicks open and shut]
[singing in Danish]
[tense music]
¶ ¶
[soft music]
¶ ¶
[indistinct speech on TV]
¶ ¶
- Hey. - Hi.
I gotta say, I never thought
I'd ever hear from you again.
I ordered you a Bud Light.
Thanks.
[sighs] You know, I'm...
I'm glad we're sitting here again.
Our old spot.
You know,
booth over there by the window.
Remember?
It's where I first said the three magic words.
Yeah, no, I don't think I remember that.
"I... love... you."
I-I meant it too.
I-I miss you, Angela.
Thanks.
Yeah, a lot of... lot of...
Lot of good memories.
And look, Josh Groban night.
[laughs] It's like we're, uh,
reliving our glory days.
- [chuckles weakly] - But, uh, you, wow.
I mean, I hear things are going great with you.
I hope this is cool
and not, like, weird,
but, um, I brought my résumé,
if you can... If you can do anything.
Well, I just figured, hey,
if there are any open positions...
I'll see what I can do.
So tell me.
How's life over there?
Very different than Allsafe.
You miss it?
Yeah.
And Gideon.
Crazy sad.
You know, I heard the dude that shot him was,
like, off his rocker.
One of those, uh, Five/Nine truthers.
Some people even say that the whole thing was,
uh, like, a put-on.
Like a... like one of those,
uh, crisis performances or whatever.
You know... you know, those Frank Cody types.
Anyways, tragic for sure.
So you ever think that CD had anything to do with it?
Excuse me?
I'm just saying, like,
Allsafe was... was ground zero.
What the fuck?
Are you working with the FBI?
No, it's...
[whispering] My uncle is a lawyer.
He told me to be careful and record any suspicious...
It's my uncle's fault. What the fuck?
What... oh, come on! [Stammers]
My contract was cleared because of the hack.
I can't afford a new phone.
Answer me.
Honestly. Right now.
Did you talk to the FBI?
No.
Yes.
I me... I mean, Angela,
look, they called me in, like, three times.
I can't sleep. I am scared as shit.
- What did you tell them? - Nothing.
Just about the CD guy, and then they did,
like, the sketch or whatever, the facial composite thing,
but I swear, I never said your name.
Wait, where are you going?
Where...
[indistinct chatter]
This food is not sanitary, am I right?
I mean, where's the General Tso's chicken?
I don't think that's a formal hors d'oeuvre in China.
Yeah? I'm gonna ask.
[sighs]
This noodle bowl thing made me gag.
These people are savages.
Excuse me, do you know where the bathroom is?
Bathroom?
Um, toilet?
No English?
Okay, thank you.
[clocks ticking]
Pardon me, do you have the time?
Oh, shit.
Mr. Zhang, I...
I was just admiring... Looking at...
For the...
Oh, right, the time 'cause of the...
You've wandered very far from the party.
I was looking for the little girls' room,
and then I... And this caught your eye?
Yeah, I... [exhales]
I know it seems a little uncanny,
but my parents had the same clock
in our family room growing up.
I found this in Germany. The town of Rothenburg.
Cost me a fortune.
The seller told me that it was one of a kind.
[scoffs]
So much for the honest salesman. [chuckles]
My parents bought theirs at a Kmart in Teaneck.
Oh, is that where you're from?
Miss... Jersey born and raised.
And my full name is Dominique DiPierro,
but I go by Dom.
Or Agent DiPierro.
Or just Dom.
So if I can ask,
what's the deal with the clocks?
Is it a punctuality thing?
"Life is but a walking shadow,
"a poor player that struts and frets
"his hour upon the stage
and then is heard no more."
You've surrounded yourself
with the constant reminder of mortality.
There's much work to do, great work.
As each second passes,
I push myself to keep moving.
You're making me think I should invest
in a decent watch.
[laughs softly]
Now, if I may ask,
how does a young woman from New Jersey
find her way into the FBI?
I was...
I am...
disgusted by the selfish brutality of the world,
but at the same time, I'm utterly fascinated by it.
The FBI's a perfect place for that kind of contradiction.
I have something in my office I think you might appreciate.
The artist strives to reflect the desolation and anxiety
that accompanies one's loss of identity.
His message is subversive to many in our country.
Nevertheless, the work appeals to the masses
and to the individual.
How is it that revolution can create such beautiful art
yet you and I are tracking revolutionaries
who've created nothing but turmoil?
There's more to the story.
I'm sorry?
FBI.
Why you joined.
What was it?
It's a little personal.
That's precisely why I'm asking.
Oh.
Okay.
[chuckles nervously] Um...
Well, it was a certain relationship.
A love story?
Of sorts. Sort of, sure.
Final semester of law school,
dating who I thought was the one,
at dinner,
days before graduation...
they got down on one knee to propose, and...
This is gonna make me sound wacky,
but I...
excused myself to the restroom and went out the back, and...
That was that.
Fast-forward several years, I turn around,
and here's what I picked instead.
A mid-level field agent.
[laughs softly]
- What is it? - I just...
Uh, I never would have... [laughs]
Expected to be talking about an old flame
to China's minister of state security.
- Ah. - [laughs]
It'll make a good story at Thanksgiving.
My dad'll love it.
[both laughing]
Whose room is this?
Wow.
These are gorgeous.
A magua,
the common Manchu clothing of the Qing Dynasty.
Detailed embroidery such as this
was often reserved for the royal families.
This is a modern qípáo
by Jin Zhi Yu Ye.
Purchased in Shanghai.
The silk fabric and embroidered lace are unrivaled.
Here.
[softly] Wow.
I've never touched something so beautiful.
I feel the same way each time.
Where did these come from?
They belong to my sister.
She stays here when she's passing through Beijing.
Let me ask, Miss DiPierro,
have you ever wondered how the world would look
if the Five/Nine hack never happened?
How the world would look right now?
In fact, some believe there are alternate realities
playing out that very scenario,
with other lives that we're leading...
Other people
that we've become.
The contemplation moves me very deeply.
[clocks chiming]
Wow, you weren't kidding.
You really do have a thing...
I apologize, I must go.
May I escort you back to the party?
[clock ringing, clocks winding]
[indistinct speech on TV]
Why are you here?
Because I wanna be.
I told Darlene I didn't want you involved.
She was right to involve me.
Please don't do this. I'll find another way.
Darlene said it's a simple job.
I place the device on the floor and walk away.
Then you guys will make everything go away,
any evidence that you find.
That's true, right?
- Right? - That's our plan.
But that's not the point.
Don't put yourself at risk.
I've run through my options.
Best-case scenario: I lose my job
and plea-bargain down a jail sentence.
I'm backed into a corner.
Either I act, or I wait to get caught.
I told myself that I would wait to decide until I saw you
because you wouldn't let me walk into this
unless you were sure that you could pull it off.
I've decided.
I miss you. You know that, right?
I reached out to you so many times,
and you kept saying no.
Can I just know why?
I keep thinking about that day
on the train platform.
After you found me in the cemetery.
You told me to take care of myself.
I wanted to be okay.
I wanted to s-stop seeing him
before I talked to you again.
And?
And my dead father's standing behind you right now.
I can be a friend.
[soft music]
Someone to talk to.
Someone who cares about you.
¶ ¶
Who knows? Maybe that will help.
¶ ¶
How's Qwerty?
[chuckles] He's good.
He's fat.
I think I'm feeding him too much.
[chuckles]
This is the federal bailout.
All right, this is critical, and you're just
backing out of our biggest operation?
This isn't open for debate.
I can't go, and it's none of your goddamn business why.
I want you to lead the D.C. op.
You're being promoted.
Take the crew down to the Capitol tonight
and begin prepping.
You serious? Really?
Well, you've done good.
Now take charge. Act like a leader.
This is a very serious opportunity.
You know the plan, right? Oh, yeah.
Good. Don't forget the package.
[cell phone buzzes]
I can't tell you how much I appreciate this.
I'm not gonna let you down.
All right, I'm gonna do you proud.
And they're gonna remember fso... Okay, just do your job
and stop acting like such a pussy.
I gotta take this.
Hello?
[mellow rock music playing]
When?
There's an encrypted users database
in the marketplace directory.
Here, um, just...
let me drive.
You gonna ask or just stare?
Okay, what happened?
It was a rhetorical question.
Just stare.
[soft dramatic music]
This guy obviously knows his shit.
Why did Ray come to me?
¶ ¶
Then you'll, um...
transfer the archives to the local machine.
¶ ¶
And then transfer the existing site
from the local machine
to the new server.
¶ ¶
You don't know when to stop.
This is what you wanted, remember?
Me, here at a terminal.
¶ ¶
Good to go.
Uh, check on it if you need to.
¶ ¶
Everyone has their own
if/then conditional programming,
a situation where if certain conditions are met,
then a logic bomb detonates.
Everything blows up in your face.
Is this Ray's if/then moment or my own?
¶ ¶
If Ray is running the site himself,
why bring me in?
Maybe he doesn't know the evil that he's spreading.
Maybe he has no idea what's on the site.
Ray is protective, kind.
Ray is dangerous, a criminal.
Are those his two halves?
Which side of him is stronger?
Is he sinister enough to host the...
Stop figuring this out.
I wanna know.
[quietly] You know.
But you're going to ignore it.
You wanna know why?
Because that's what we do.
¶ ¶
It's not what I do.
If he's guilty,
I could destroy him
in under two minutes at a terminal.
Are we really back to this again?
Ray is not some coffee shop owner.
Forget what you saw and move on.
You're thinking only of yourself.
I'm thinking of us.
¶ ¶
And I'm thinking of the people in those pictures.
I could help them.
[quietly] We have other battles to fight.
[quietly] What else is new?
¶ ¶
A logic bomb explodes either at a set time
or when a specific condition is met.
And now I've met Ray's black market of evil.
Mr. Robot can deny it all he wants,
but I can't.
Can you?
[music box playing soft music]
¶ ¶
[cell phone buzzing]
Hello?
[breathing heavily]
[speaking Danish]
[sirens wailing]
Tyrell...
[ambulance horn honks]
[dramatic music]
¶ ¶
[horn honks]
¶ ¶
[door rattles open]
¶ ¶
[indistinct chatter]
¶ ¶
[car horn honks]
¶ ¶
Were you followed?
No, I don't think so.
Did you take the route I sent you?
Yeah.
Where's your cell phone?
At home.
No bullshit from here on.
Understand?
¶ ¶
Oh, my head is pounding.
Way too much of that Baijiu drink last night.
Speaking of, where'd you go?
I got stuck listening to Jesse trying to speak Chinese.
He made a lot of people really uncomfortable.
Oh, you know, your average evening.
A private tour from Minister Zhang himself.
[laughing softly] What?
Was he putting, uh, moves on you?
No, not like that.
But he did take me to his sister's bedroom
and show me her clothes.
- That's sort of weird. - Mm-hmm.
Even more so when you consider
Minister Zhang doesn't have a sister.
Nice look, Hollywood.
Thanks. I got myself all gussied up
for the field trip. - [Chuckles]
- Where's Santiago? - On another rampage.
ADIC called with updates about the raspberry pi.
- Great. - Not great.
Turns out the guy who found it
smudged his fat fingers all over it,
smearing any possible prints.
- [sighs] - Another dead end.
When Santiago stomped off, he was threatening
to reach through his cell phone and castrate the guy.
- Fantastic. - [chuckles]
Think I'm gonna need more caffeine
to survive the day.
[gun cocks, woman screams]
[grunts] [people screaming]
[gunfire]
[people yelling and screaming]
Get them kids out of there! [grunts]
[gunfire]
[gunshot] - [grunts]
[gunfire]
[sirens wailing faintly]
[gunshot]
[panting]
[gunfire]
[high-pitched ringing]
[gunfire]
[dramatic music]
¶ ¶
Hey! Hey!
Hey! Help!
[thumping] Ah!
Stop! Help!
Help!
[grunts]
[door slams]
Fuck.
[straining]
¶ ¶
You are one stupid fuck.
Never trust a guy with a rattail.
Too easy to carve secrets out of.
[car door clicks open]
[panting]
¶ ¶
Ray...
what are you doing?
I told you not to look.
¶ ¶
[grunts]
[all grunting]
[thudding and grunting]
¶ ¶
[echoing thudding]
¶ ¶