sam!
long time no see!
problem? - no problem - yes, everything's going fantastically well, wonderful, marvelous, great career prospects, alison in great shape, kids fine, beautiful home, i'm on security level five now, and mr helpmann relies on me more and more, yes, couldn't be better, i feel terrifically motivated and job- rewarded -
me? - if i'm worried about anyone, it's you. what happened to you, sam? you were the brightest of us -
what's the matter?
you are late.
sam, your life is going wrong - let your friends tell you - records is a dead end department, no security level worth a damn, it's impossible to get noticed -
triplets.
you remember alison?
and she's been to dr. jaffe!
{winking at sam) she doesn't like me telling anyone but she's pleased as anything really.
remember how they used to stick out?
dr. jaffe has pinned her ears back.
mr helpmann!
you remember my wife .  alis -
barbara's very well, thank you, sir. how are you?
of course .  of course .  come on alison - barbara
sam! what a surprise!
sorry about that .  mr helpmann told me you were coming aboard - congratulations!
for my sins. are you settling in alright?
terrific. i'm really glad you dropped by. unfortunately, i don't have any time right now i've got a queue of customers to deal with - er, why don't we have a drink tonight?
what?
ok. come back this afternoon, about four o'clock. if you give me the number of the case, i'll have the dossier here waiting. my tailor,.  well worth the investment.
layton! oh shit!
you clever bastard! i might have guessed. you only moved in today and you're already hot on the bloody trail.
please, sam, we're going to have to be open to each other on this one. if you make a reputation with this case, it'll be at my expense.
how much do you know?
enough though, eh?
ok. ok. let's not fence around .  this is the situation. some idiot somewhere in the building, some insect, confused two of our clients, b58. 732 and t47. 215.
christ! you do know it all!
well, your a. buttle has been confused with t47. 215, an a. tuttle. i mean, it's a joke! somebody should be shot for that. so b58. 732 was pulled in by mistake.
i did not get the wrong man. i got the right man. the wrong man was delivered to me as the right man! i accepted him, on trust, as the right man. was i wrong? anyway, to add to the confusion, he died on us. which, had he been the right man, he wouldn't have done.
sam, there are very rigid parameters laid down to avoid that event but buttle's heart condition did not appear on tuttle's file. don't think i'm dismissing this business, sam. i've lost a week's sleep over it already.
there are some real bastards in this department who don't mind breaking a few eggs to make an omelette, but thank god there are the new boys like me who want to maintain decent civilized standards of terrorist eradication. we've got the upper hand for the moment, but they're waiting for us to slip up, and a little slip- up like this is just the chance they're looking for.
what i've got to do now is pick up tuttle, interrogate him at the same voltage as buttle, to the same meter reading to the last penny, and juggle the books in electrical banking.
we suspect him of freelance subversion.
he's a compulsive heating engineer. a maverick ex-central service repair man with a grudge against society. now, fortunately, we're nearly out of the wood, i think. at least we will be when i get this layton woman under arrest.
you didn't know as much about this business as you pretended to, did you?
very smart.
yes. i'm impressed.
she witnessed the tuttle arrest - the buttle arrest - and since then she's been making wild allegations, obviously trying to exploit the situation - she's working for somebody, and she's not working for us.
look after that suit, eh. barbara chose it for me.
barbara's a perfectly good name, isn't it?
why?
{baffled) i don't follow you.
kindness? what's the purpose behind this line of enquiry?
get her out of circulation - i've put her on the detention list.
well, i .  good point. what do you suggest?
what does that mean? i don't want to be involved in anything unsavoury.
of course. we went to school together. you're my oldest friend.
you're the only person i can trust.
right! just between as and the security forces.
but, i've already put her on the search and detain list.
there's no procedure for that until she's been arrested.
we don't make mistakes.
er .  alright. for christ's sake don't lose it. here, you'd better sign for it.
do you know what you're doing.
sam .  we're proud to have you at information retrieval. merry xmas.
i'm sorry, sam, i'm afraid this whole case has become much more complicated since last we talked.
tell that to the wives of the security men she blew up this afternoon. listen, we've also had a report just in from central services that tuttle has wrecked an entire flat and sabotaged adjacent central services systems - as a matter of fact, in your block. i'd keep my eyes open if i were you, sam. bye.
i do. goodbye.
there are no coincidences, sam. everything's connected, all along the line. cause and effect. that's the beauty of it. our job is to trace the connections and reveal them. this whole buttle. tuttle confusion was obviously planned from the inside. bye bye.
sam - we've always been close, haven't we?
well, could you stay away from me until this thing blows over.
shut up!
bastard!!!
you stupid bastard!
how could you do this to me?
how do you think i feel? you shit!
shut up! this is a professional relationship!
i'm afraid you're right, mr. helpmann. he's gone.