Good morning, Mr. Phelps.
The man you're looking at is David Redding,
one of the top photographers in the country.
He is also the contact for a spy apparatus
that has secretly brought 150 agents into the United States
over the past few months.
Yesterday, one of the agents was picked up.
We have not been able to get any information from him
except that they carry deadly pneumonic plague bacillus,
which is to be released on our population within 72 hours.
We have dozens of coded messages in and out of Redding's headquarters
which we are certain locate and identify the agents.
However, we have so far been unable to break Redding's code.
Your mission, should you decide to accept it,
is to get the key to the code so we can pick up those agents
before it's too late.
As always, if you or any of your IM Force
should be caught or killed,
the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.
This recording will self-destruct in five seconds.
Good luck, Jim.
- You've got it. - Sure.
- I hope I remember it. - You'd better.
Oh, Fran Williams of Elite magazine said she'll cooperate fully, Cinnamon.
I was sure she would.
Now, this is Redding's home and studio.
This is where he does his photography.
Set off a small country road, no other homes around it.
This is the bomb shelter, about 50 yards from the house.
This is where he does the transmitting and receiving of his messages.
It also has auxiliary power, water tanks, air filtration
- and even a periscope. - It looks as though Mr. Redding
won't give up the information we want so easily.
And that's why they haven't picked him up
so that we can work on him.
Now, are you set with the jamming equipment?
Ready to go, Jim.
- How about the gun permits, Willy? - Neither of them has one.
They're too smart to carry guns without a permit.
All we have to do is check any guns they may have around the house.
- And in the bomb shelter. - Now,
The names and locations of the agents carrying the bacillus
have got to be somewhere in these coded messages.
A team of cryptographers been working on it around the clock
since the first intercept. They can't break the code.
In this age of computers, I thought any code could be broken.
No, that's not true, Willy. Codes such as this,
based on a changing progression of random numbers,
can't possibly be broken without the key.
So we get the key.
Oh, that's lovely. Lovely, lovely.
A little more hair, lots of hair.
Oh, that's beautiful. Hold that. Hold that.
Now come down with me. That's lovely, lovely.
Lovely, lovely. Over here, over here. Okay, let's see something.
Come on, come on. Oh, beautiful, beautiful. Beautiful.
Yes, yes. Oh, yes. Superb.
Better wind it up, David. We've an appointment in ten minutes.
Okay, okay. A couple more.
Now bring it across. Step right over me.
Oh, that's nice, that's nice. Now come back over me.
That's it, that's it. That's beautiful, beautiful.
Beautiful. That's right.
Lovely.
That's nice. Now, up here. Up here.
Focus, focus, focus. That's beautiful, beautiful.
Nice level, look at here. Tilt up, tilt up, tilt up.
Lovely, lovely, lovely. That's it. Okay.
David, you've got more than enough for this layout.
- We've got an appointment. - I just need a couple more.
That's nice. That's nice, that's nice.
Oh, good, good. Perfect. Hold it.
Okay, okay, just a couple more. Yeah, beautiful.
- David. - Hold that, hold that.
That's lovely, lovely. That's it for today.
My sweet, you're an angel.
Thank you, Dave. Ciao. See you soon.
We'd better get out there.
One, two, three, four, five...
It's about Channing, agent who was picked up.
They wanna know if he talked, if so, how much,
and if any new plans were made based on what he might have said.
- Anything else? - Oh, that'll do.
Morning, Sandy.
- Hi, Frannie. - Hello, David.
What's happening?
We've got to get the "Elite Personalities" feature
finished up this week.
I want you to do the layout on Billy Land.
Billy Land? He's that kid who makes records.
He's supposed to be a millionaire at 19. The facts are on this sheet.
Sandy should have the appointment set up for you.
Sandy, what about that appointment with Billy Land?
But he knew about this.
All right, I guess you better cable Gorman in the London office.
He can have Simpson shoot it.
The nut left for Europe last night.
Well, what's the second name on that list?
"Cinnamon Carter Crawford."
Oh, good. You can shoot her instead.
It's probably just as well.
You do better pictures of women anyway.
Biochemist who used to be one of your cover girls?
- Beauty and brains. - Oh, that sounds interesting.
I'm gonna do something special with this.
- Hello. - Mr. Phelps? Fran Williams.
He's on his way.
Thank you, Ms. Williams.
Yes?
I have Mr. Redding here, Dr. Crawford.
All right. Just give me a moment, please.
Thank you, Joshua.
- Hi, come on in. - Hi, how are you?
- Would you like a cup of coffee? - Oh, no, thanks.
This is not an easy place to get into.
Yes, I know.
A team of us are working on a project for the Federal Security Department.
- Very top-secret. - I see.
I remember you.
I must have seen you on at least a dozen Elite covers.
Those were fun times.
You know, we wanna do a layout on you.
Yes, I know. Fran called but I told her it would probably be impossible.
- Why not? - Time.
Oh, it'll only take a few hours. I could shoot you here at your desk.
As a matter of fact, I've got my cameras in the car.
No, that's absolutely out of the question.
Cameras are strictly verboten in here.
I'm sorry. It probably would have been fun.
Listen, we don't have to do the layout here.
I've got a great idea.
I'll put together a stylised set at my studio
and we can shoot some fashion stuff as well as the personality layout.
Why not?
Former model back in harness.
- Fran will love it. - But when?
Tomorrow's Saturday. If you're free, come out tomorrow.
- I think you're serious. - I am.
Can I bring my husband?
Husbands are welcome.
- Load me up, Alex. - Right.
How do I look?
- Fantastic. - And then some.
I thought we'd try some fashion poses over here by the lab stuff.
Behind the bottles.
Okay. That's good. Move a little to your left.
There, that's it, that's it.
Perfect. Okay, open it up a little. A little more excitement.
Yeah, that's better. That's better.
Remember, you're a sexy biochemist.
You really are.
Perfect. Now, turn with your back toward me.
Your back to me.
And then come back this way very slowly, okay?
- David. - What?
- What is it that you've written there? - Oh, I don't know.
I thought there should be some sort of chemical formula on it.
That would be nice. Except that what you've written, in fact,
is a kind of wonderful combination of turpentine and oatmeal.
You're kidding.
Shall I fix it?
For the chemists among our readers, perhaps you should.
Alex, clean off the board.
Certainly.
I had to mention it. Second nature, you know. I'm sorry.
Well, I'm not. I'm glad you noticed.
Now, listen, I think I will leave you two to work and take a little stroll.
Good idea. It's a beautiful day.
We'll be at this for a few hours.
I'll be back in a while. Have fun.
My contribution to science.
Very impressive.
I knew you'd like it.
Okay, let's get back to work.
Perfect. That's good, that's good.
Lovely. Lovely, lovely.
Yes, that's nice. Now open it up.
Good, good, good.
Yes, it's perfect. Perfect.
Yes, that is lovely.
Lovely, lovely.
Couldn't be lovelier. That does this outfit.
Why don't you have a smoke and change?
How am I doing?
My sweet, you're a natural.
David, I've done something terrible.
That formula is top-secret.
I've been working on it so much, I didn't realise it when I was writing it.
I'll have to have the film.
- We got some great stuff. - Please.
Dig it out, Alex.
This is gonna hurt.
I'm sorry, David.
I guess this business of working on all this top-secret material
is getting to me. The security, the guards,
constant reminder that they are listening.
I hate it. It scares me.
I don't know, I guess being a security risk just scares me.
- I'm sorry, David. - Forget it. You're beautiful.
Now, let's start again.
- I'll write you another one. - No oatmeal.
No turpentine.
Okay, okay. That's perfect.
Now give me exactly the same thing going the other way. Thattagirl.
Thattagirl, that's nice. Up... Yeah.
That's lovely. Now come towards me.
Yes, yes, yes, that's it.
Good, hold that. Just a minute. That's lovely.
Work your way toward Alex just a little.
I wanna split the background. Thattagirl. Yeah, that's it.
That's nice. Beautiful. Let's do that again.
Raising up just a bit. Oh, that's lovely.
Lovely.
Perfect. No more fog, Alex.
That's good, that's nice. That's nice. A little more toward me.
- How's it going? - We'll make this the last shot.
Oh, that's lovely.
Perfect! Wrap it up. Save the fog.
Was it as much fun as you remembered?
Yes, but more work than I remembered.
I'll get my things.
- I'll be with you in a moment. - Okay.
Better get started in the darkroom, Alex.
Right.
You know, David, I wanna thank you.
Oh, it's my pleasure.
No, really, whether the magazine ever uses the pictures or not,
she absolutely loved it. Never seen her so excited.
- Who was? - Never mind.
Thank you, David. I hope the pictures are good.
They will be, my sweet. They're of you.
- Bye. - Thanks again.
- I'll show you out. - No, no, no, we'll find our way.
I'll be in touch.
It's a formula for eosin methylthionine chloride.
The culture medium the bacillus is supported in.
She may be working on some means of combating our project.
Yeah, that's what the centre thinks.
They want us to find out everything she knows.
You think she'll talk?
She'll talk.
They are magnificent, my sweet. Magnificent.
Oh, David, I'm so pleased. I'm just dying to see them.
Why don't you and your husband drive up this morning?
Oh, David, I don't know.
I'm supposed to be at the Federal Security Department.
Nonsense, it's Sunday.
Nobody works on Sunday. I'll expect you for brunch.
All right. All right, we'll be there.
But we'll have to rush right back.
Okay. See you in about an hour.
Okay, Alex. Hey, let me see these.
They're good.
Too bad nobody will ever see them.
Oh, good morning, doctor.
- Good morning. - Mr. Crawford.
- Won't you come in? - Thank you.
- Hi, beautiful. - Hi.
Over here. Wait till you see.
There you are.
Oh, David, they're great.
You've made me look beautiful.
- They're magnificent. - All I did was snap the shutter.
Even the rejects were exciting.
- Oh, I'd love to see them. - Here they are.
Look at that angle.
Oh, that's great.
David.
I destroyed that roll of film.
- You'd better sit down, my sweet. - What's this all about?
Do what he says.
Eosin methylthionine chloride.
An interesting substance.
I'm in charge of the project you're investigating
for the Federal Security Department.
But you're an American.
So was my father, Jason Redding.
Jason Redding, nuclear physicist. Tried, convicted.
Executed for passing America's precious secrets on to the enemy.
- And like father like son. - Wrong.
Unlike my father, I am a traitor.
You see, my father was absolutely loyal to this country.
He loved it.
He loved it enough to build a bomb he despised.
So much so that when he was accused,
he answered every question put to him honestly.
He was even naive enough to admit that he had many friends,
men he had known all his life, who were communists.
That made him a spy.
He was convicted because papers in his handwriting
were found in the possession of an enemy agent.
Top-secret papers that he admitted
he'd smuggled out of the testing ground.
Not smuggled.
Left in his coat absent-mindedly.
Somebody stole them, passed them on to the enemy.
If that's true, why wasn't that somebody ever found?
They never looked for him.
They had their patsy: My father.
But, David, if what you say is true
and your father was innocent and really loved his country,
why are you doing what you're doing?
This country killed my father.
I was Jason Redding's best friend.
As it turned out, his only friend.
That last night in the death house, I promised him I would raise his son.
And I also promised myself that David and I
would one day make them pay for the murder of David's father.
I wanna know what the Federal Security people know,
and exactly how much the man known as Wilson Channing has told you.
You know I can't tell you anything. You know that.
Your husband means a great deal to you, doesn't he?
What do you mean?
You see this knob?
This knob controls voltage output from 55 to 80,000.
I wonder how many your husband can stand before his heart stops.
Sit down over there.
Cinnamon, don't tell them anything.
Nothing.
This is a gun.
- Don't tell them. - What do they know?
Tell me what they know.
Don't tell them.
What?
Tell me.
No. I'll tell you. It won't help you anyway.
When your agents came to this country
with their plague canisters, they committed an act of war.
At this very moment,
this country is planning to launch a nuclear attack
which will totally destroy your country. Totally destroy it.
I don't believe it.
When your agents learn that their country is annihilated,
do you think they're gonna carry out your orders?
If she's telling the truth, it's all over.
We've failed.
Maybe not.
Even with our limited missile capacity, there may be a way.
What would happen if a nuclear missile
wiped out New York before they attacked us?
Wouldn't Washington assume that the attack
came from the Russians or the Red Chinese?
Since they couldn't verify it,
wouldn't Washington have to retaliate against the Russians or the Chinese
before they dealt with us?
We'd be the only surviving power.
Exactly.
Contact the centre.
- Alex. - Thank you, doctor.
You've been most helpful.
Alex.
If the centre should accept our plan,
they'll be launching their missiles in an hour or two.
Or less. Let's move to the shelter.
All right, stay right where you are.
What's going on? Who are you?
Federal Security Department.
We have warrants for your arrest.
- Well, what's the charges? - For now, espionage.
Unless we can pick up those agents before they release the bacillus,
- it'll be murder, mass murder. - What?
Hey, what is this? Some sort of practical joke?
No, it's no joke. All right, let's go.
Stay here. Tear up the place until you can find that code.
I said, let's go.
Where are you taking us?
New York, federal courts building.
New York?
Now, wait a minute. Maybe...
Maybe we can work something out.
- A deal? - What kind of a deal?
We'll give you the code and show you how it works.
Give you the names of all the agents and where you can pick them up.
I can't make a deal.
But if I bring you in with the code and you tell us everything you know,
I think we can work something out.
- Code's in the shelter. - After you.
All right, open it up.
Go ahead.
Sit down over there.
Let's get rid of him, David. Why keep him around?
Because sooner or later, one of us is gonna have to go up
and check on the fallout level.
All commercial broadcasting is suspended.
Switch to your emergency station.
Repeat, all commercial broadcasting is suspended.
Switch...
NORAD reports enemy missiles
en route to the continental United States.
All citizens are instructed to take shelter at once.
This is not a test.
Repeat, all citizens take shelter.
Repeat, all citizens take cover.
This is not a test.
- This is not a test. - Sit down.
Take cover. Take cover.
Take cov...
How far was it?
Twenty to 25 miles.
That's New York.
Firestorm will reach here in another few seconds.
It must be 200 degrees up there.
It'll burn out in a few minutes. Then we can take a look.
It's not as hot.
Fires must be burning out.
Let's take a look.
Raise the antenna.
"Q, S, U, V..."
What's the date?
Twenty-third.
All set.
Now, what's the first letter?
- J. - J.
Minus two.
- F. - The second letter is L.
L.
Minus seven.
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
B.
"F-B."
It's not decoding. Are you sure it's an L?
- Positive. - What's the third letter?
Third letter's W.
W, nine. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
J.
"F-B-J."
There's something wrong, it's not decoding.
The centre's made a mistake.
No, you have.
It's a simple code, once you have the key, the date and a phone book.
Get in touch with Security Department.
- Tell them to break down the code. - All right.
And while you're sitting in your cell waiting to die,
I want you to think about something.
If your father really was innocent,
who would have been more likely to wanna frame him?
The United States government or his best friend,
who also happened to be an enemy agent even then.