Alice decides her future. Season finale.
Alice decides her future. Season finale.
The Hacker Chronicles
Presented by Tenable. Learn more at Tenable.com/Alice
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Starring Michael C. Hall as John Doe
And Chloe Taylor as Alice
Executive Produced by Michael C. Hall, Jerome Robert, Skyler Schmanski and Ian Faison
Directed by Rex New
Written for Audio by Rex New, Jerome Robert, & Skyler Schmanski
Story based on the Novella The Hacker Chronicles created by Jerome Robert and written by Skyler Schmanski
With:
Nicole Britton as Katie
Levi Squier as Tech Support
Alex McTavish as Lindsey
Hans Wackerhauser as Jason
Douglas Thornton as David and the Weather Reporter
Dan Scott as the Magic Lamp
Lila Britton as the Piano Student
Michael Capra as US Marshal Melton Littlepage
Mark Wolf Roberts as the Newscaster
SJ Nichols as the Lift Operator
Rex New as Kaden
And John Katona as Genie
The Hacker Chronicles is produced by Caspian Studios.
Produced by Taylor Brim & Rex New
Produced by Dane Eckerle
Supervising Creative Producer: Landon Pontius
Sound Design by Dan Scott and and Zack Dingman
Sound Mixing by Dan Scott
“Jacob’s Celebration” is composed by Joshua Glenn Wilson and performed by Joshua Glenn Wilson and Chloe Taylor
Associate Producer: Mark Wolf Roberts
Dialogue Editing by Nick Canepa
Production Support by SJ Nichols, Bradley Glanzrock, Jon Libbey
and Dani Godard.
Marketing Support from Dino Pasalic, Kyle Rusca, Dylan Langlois and Rockable
Additional Production Support provided by Echo Mountain Studios
Wakefield Announcer (00:02): In just six hours, Wakefield City will take the field against Manchester United in what many are expecting to be a lopsided match.
Katie (00:10): Alice, you are watching soccer. That's not like you.
Alice (00:14): Yeah, I was just zoning out. It's my last day of work. I'm just a little nervous.
Katie (00:23): Well, I'm not the only one with good news though. I dunno. I'm not feeling very hooga right now. I'm very stressed. Whatever The opposite of an Iron Jacobson chair. That's me right now.
Alice (00:38): Wait, what?
Katie (00:39): You quitting your job? It inspired me. I mean, if I'd had a job to quit, I would've followed you right over that cliff.
Alice (00:50): Okay.
Katie (00:52): Wine night.
Alice (00:54): Alright, Katie, I am still not following
Katie (00:57): Well. You and I have had two life-changing wine nights. There was the one before you moved to Lake Placid and then two nights ago when you quit your job. And obviously we've had a lot of other really great wine nights. But those two, I mean hot damn. We each came to these huge realizations in our lives. We barely even spoke to each other until we had wine night together. We were there for each other. And that's what Wine Night is all about, making connections.
Alice (01:30): Yeah, for sure. Okay, so where's the bad news in this?
Katie (01:35): I'm getting to it. Okay. The other night I got to thinking, what if I could do that same thing for other people? Amazing wine, life-changing conversations. Maybe throw in some great chefs, like a curated dinner party series. So while you were at work yesterday, I called my cousin Molly in London, the event planner, the one that–
Alice (02:03): Loves Danish furniture.
Katie (02:04): Yes. She actually has some meetings with investors this week and she wants me to join her. She is really excited about testing out the wine night concept for her business.
Alice (02:16): Oh, Katie, my god. That's perfect.
Katie (02:19): Yeah, she booked my flight for this afternoon.
Alice (02:24): Oh wow.
Katie (02:27): I feel so guilty. This whole thing is moving so quickly.
Alice (02:32): Katie, Katie. Why would you feel guilty? This is perfect. You've got to do this
Katie (02:39): Because you've done so much for me, bringing me here to Copenhagen, being there for me when I needed it most Katie, all this,
Alice (02:48): This is you and hygue probably. I was just tagging along.
Katie (02:55): Well, maybe you can come see me in Lyden when you're done here. I mean, we haven't even talked about what happens after today. Your last day of work. Oh God.
Alice (03:04): I know. I haven't even had the chance to think about what happens next.
Katie (03:08): Well, you should come to London and we'll go shopping for Ryan's wedding. Ryan, you know, he actually called me last night freaking out about which color? Cumber bun to get. Give me a hug. You. Oh, Katie. Oh, well. Yeah. Okay. And thank you for bringing me to Copenhagen. Well, I didn't want to be here by myself, so had to invite you. You're a good friend, Alice. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay.
Alice (03:49): You are too. Katie. I'm going to miss you.
Katie (03:52):
Well, it's not goodbye. It's See you in London
Alice (04:35): And this is it. Do or die. Seriously, answer the door, Dmitri. Fine. Come on.
Lindsay (05:00): Are you Alice?
Alice (05:02) Yes, I am.
Lindsay: Alice. Oh, come on in. Thank you. So what's it like working for Dmitri?
Katie (05:13): He keeps me busy.
Lindsay (05:14): I know. He's such a workaholic. I'm sorry. I wasn't sure what to think when Dmitri told me he had hired a junior programmer. He always works alone, but he speaks very highly of you. Oh, and we both know Dmitri is not the most patient person.
Alice: I don't have any idea what you're talking about.
Lindsay: Well, Dmitri said to send you right to the office. Don't hesitate to ask if you need anything.
Alice: Okay, thanks. Hello. I'm here. Big day. Big day.
Dimitri (06:03): It is.
Alice (06:07): Your wife is super nice.
Dimitri (06:10): I'm very lucky. It looks like we're all set. We've moved laterally to Wakefield's ad streaming system and we have access to their stadium's main screens. I've got everything ready to go. There's just one last thing to figure out What I thought. Everything's ready. What we call ourselves, our hacker handle. I was thinking Analog.
Alice (06:35): Oh, that. Oh, Analog. Just Analog. Seriously?
Dimitri (06:40): It's the opposite of Elektronika… Analog.
Alice (06:43): Okay, but no, no, that can't be our name.
Dimitri (06:49): It's not like we can say Abel10.
Alice (06:53): I've got an idea.
Dimitri (06:54): The decision is yours as long as it's not Alice and Dimitri.
Alice (06:59): All right, deal.
Dimitri (07:01): You ready? So almost halftime. Okay.
Alice (07:07): It's now or never.
Soccer Announcer (07:21): That's the end of stoppages time for the first half. As Wakefield city is tied with Manchester United, nil, nil. And I have to say, David, this is one of the strangest matches I have ever seen.
Wakefield Announcer (07:33): I second that Jason, we were expecting Manchester United to come in aggressively. Remember, they are trying to solidify their standing on top of the Premier League, and they have played aggressively. However, their star striker, Louis Robert has been unable to convert a goal. The Frenchman has had three excellent chances and three misses.
Soccer Announcer (07:53): They were all clean looks as well.
Wakefield Announcer (07:55): Robert will need to pick things up in the second half.
Soccer Announcer (07:58): As for Wakefield City, you hate to say they've played poorly, but
Wakefield Announcer (08:02): Jason, I have to stop you right there. Do you see what I'm seeing?
Soccer Announcer (08:07): No.
Wakefield Announcer (08:07): On the scoreboard,
Soccer Announcer (08:08): Boy. What? Yes, I see it now.
Wakefield Announcer (08:12): Now this is a radio broadcast, so let me set the stage for a moment. There's a strange animation on the scoreboard. A genie is popping out of a magic lamp like in the movie Aladdin, but much, much lower budget.
Soccer Announcer (08:26): Much, much cruder, whoever did. This is clearly not a great artist. I have a feeling this is not part of the halftime festivities. Hello Wakefield city. I am the magic them. And I have a question for you.
The Magic Lamp Voice (08:45): Do you know the truth about Andre Noko? Andre Noko is not the saint he says he is. He's a criminal, a butcher. He has destroyed lives. Ruined businesses, used disinformation to change the course of governments. Every dollar he has made every seat in this stadium is thanks to his hacking collective electronica. Andre is the head. Electronica is the hand. They take orders from Andre and Andre all the,
Wakefield Announcer (09:31): I don't even know what to say right now.
Soccer Announcer (09:33): It appears to be a message
Wakefield Announcer (09:35): Targeted at Wakefield owner, Andrei Novikov.
Wakefield Announcer (09:39): No kidding.
The Magic Lamp Voice (09:41): Andrei. We have proof of your crimes. That genie is out of the bottle and we will not rest until we have justice. Once you are the biggest fish in the sea. Let's see how you breathe out of the water. If you want to know the truth about Andre Novikov, send a message to the real magic lab at proton E. We are waiting to tell you that–
Wakefield Announcer (10:20): We have official word from the Wakefield City stadium crew that they have been victim of a cyber attack. In all my years of broadcasting, I've never seen anything like that. That's it. I've deleted the malware. We're no longer inside Wakefield city systems or anywhere else. And now we wait.
Dimitri (10:58): Now we wait. The Magic Lamp, really?
Alice (11:06): Still better than Analog.
Dimitri (11:10): Holy shit. The messages are coming through.
Alice (11:12): Jesus. There's hundreds.
Dimitri (11:16): I can't believe this. It'll take a while to sort through what's real and what's not. But what matters is we have the world's attention. The calls for a boycott of Andre's businesses have already begun. This is going to be all over the internet.
Alice (11:29): What about our contacts? We should get in touch with them.
Dimitri (11:31): Andrei needs to stand trial and for that, we need law enforcement. Our contacts aren't that. They're mostly intelligence. And frankly, I wouldn't trust the agencies we worked for. I mean, they hired us.
Alice (11:44): True. Hey, before we start going through the messages, I need to make a phone call.
Dimitri (11:52): Okay. Yeah, go ahead. I'm going to give Karl a ring.
Alice (11:56): Okay. I'll just be outside.
Tech Support (12:21): Hello, Abel.
Alice (12:23): Wait, Frank, is that you?
Tech Support (12:28): Yeah. Yeah. It's me. Frank,
Alice (12:30): You sound different.
Tech Support (12:32): Yeah. I thought you might notice. How may I help you, Abel?
Alice (12:38): Well, first off, just tell me what's going on.
Tech Support (12:41): Well, first off, I would like to acknowledge that I have been, as I say, down in the dumps lately, and I've tried all kinds of these things to cheer myself up. I went on vacation and such was nothing. I started going to a ceramics class. Such was nothing. I even cut nightshades out of my diet.
Alice (13:06): Wow.
Tech Support (13:06): And do you know, not eating tomatoes did not cure my depression. Wild, right. Just nothing. First helping me every day. I felt as though I were looking into an impossibly dark void and all I could think first, I live in a simulation. My existence has no meaning, no purpose. I'm just a few billion bits of computer code. Hopefully it wasn't written in Java.
Alice (13:41): Okay, that sounds like you, but I feel like there's a but coming.
Tech Support (13:50): Well, recently a colleague of mine came to me, this an unconventional request. He asked me to be his emergency contact.
Alice (14:00): Oh really?
Tech Support (14:02): You know, no one has ever asked me that before. Of course I was humbled. I said yes. But it has made me think perhaps it does not matter if you're made of flesh and blood or vs. And zeroes. What matters is we're here for each other. One big, bloody coded mess. I also hear it was your idea, Abel, so thank you.
Alice (14:38): No, I'm just glad I could help.
Tech Support (14:40): Okay. And enough sentimentality. How can I help you today?
Alice (14:46): Oh yeah, so I'm actually calling to cancel my account.
Tech Support (14:54): Oh, may I ask why? Has our service not been satisfactory?
Alice (14:58): No, no, it's actually been the opposite.
Tech Support (15:01): We've had some customers concerned of our recent price increases,
Alice (15:05): But no, it's, I'm, look, I'm changing careers, so I'm just not going to be requiring your RASS kit or your frighteningly helpful tools or your totally unparalleled help desk line anymore. Hello.
Tech Support (15:29): I understand—
Alice (15:32): But I've really liked working with you. It's just time for me to move on.
Tech Support (15:37): Again, Abel, I understand. It sounds like we're both making some very positive changes in our lives.
Alice (15:49): Oh man. I'm going to miss you. My nihilist, weirdo and whatever you're going to go be now,
Tech Support (15:57): I'm going to miss you too, Abel, you've come a long way, but I've want you to know something.
Alice (16:05): Yeah.
Tech Support (16:06): I feel always be your emergency contact. Always.
Alice (16:15): Wow, I appreciate that.
Tech Support (16:23): Also, another member of our customer support team will be sending you a survey to gather feedback about your experience using our service.
Alice (16:29): Yeah, okay. Yeah, definitely. You will get your five stars. I promise.
Tech Support (16:34): It's a 10 point system.
Alice (16:37): Okay, cool.
Tech Support (16:38): And it certainly help me during my annual evaluation.
Alice (16:42): Definitely.
Tech Support (16:46): It being malware you wouldn't sink. We'd have that, but we do and it's,
Alice (16:50): Yeah, definitely. Cool. Listen, so there's a saying, DOA. It means until we meet again, so I'm not saying goodbye, just DOA.
Tech Support (17:16): DOA Abel.
Dimitri (17:39): How was your phone call?
Alice (17:41): Good.
Dimitri (17:43): There are some promising messages here.
Alice (17:46): Let's see. One of these is our future emergency contact.
Dimitri (17:53): Exactly.
Alice (17:56): What do you think is going to happen when we start calling the people who have been emailing us?
Dimitri (18:01): We'll trade our documents for immunity and anonymity for ourselves and Carl. The police will leave us alone and Andre will never know where the bloke came from and then we'll all go on living our lives.
Alice (18:15): Wow. Do you really think it's going to be that simple? I mean, I haven't even thought about what's going to come next. It's going to be complex plex, whatever it is.
Dimitri (18:28): You're nervous. Why? We have everything on Andrei. When we're in a negotiation, we set the terms.
Alice (18:36): Look, Andrei's dangerous, the prosecution's going to take years and they might need us to testify eventually. I have this feeling they're going to put us in witness protection. Like the guy in Goodfellas who hated it. I mean, obviously we've got the information, but do you really think the terms are ours to dictate what? What's so funny?
Dimitri (19:00): I'm a little nervous too. I was thinking, what if I have to tell Lindsay about this double life I've had the entire time she's known me and then the US government just sticks us in a mobile home in New Mexico. She would not be happy and don't get me started on my son.
Alice (19:18): I'll send you a chicken pot pie. It sounds horrible.
Dimitri (19:22): It really does. Well, if it comes to that, I'll make sure I wind up in Malaysia. Lindsay and I have been looking at homes in Panang. Maybe it's time
Alice (19:33): Panang. I'm going to go out west somewhere with lots of snow. I mean, if I can't see my friends or family or whatever, I may as well just snowboard for the rest of my life. I guess maybe I'll teach piano lessons.
Dimitri (19:50): Yeah, well that's not going to happen. We're going to get a deal and continue our lives. We have a lot of emails, but look at this one from the FBI.
Alice (20:02): As a former cyber criminal myself, I think it looks pretty legit.
Dimitri (20:06): What do you say partner? Should we call them?
Alice (20:11): I'm just glad you didn't call me friend.
Piano Student: So what did you think, Ms. Vanzant?
Alice: Whoa. You've been practicing, haven't you?
Piano Student: 45 minutes every day.
Alice: Yeah, I can tell because when you know a piece, when you really understand it, you don't play the notes, you play the song and that's what you did. That right there. That might just be my favorite rendition of Jacob's celebration.
Piano Student: Thank you. Ms. Van Zant. Can I ask you a question?
Alice: Sure.
Piano Student: The song is called Jacob's Celebration, but it doesn't sound like a celebration.
Alice: Yeah. I was talking to my friend Katie about this song and she told me that whatever Jacob is celebrating, it probably wasn't easy getting there. And I think that's probably right. I think the song's about the struggle to accomplish anything worth celebrating, and I think it's important to remember that, that nothing we accomplish ever comes easy as you know, because you've been practicing this song so much. I was supposed to play this at my brother's wedding, but I wasn't able to go.
Piano Student: What happened?
Alice: Work. I made a big mistake and turns out decisions have consequences. Anyway, maybe I'll tell you about it one day. Come on.
News Announcer (23:55):
And now more developments. In the third day of the trial of Andre Novikov in New York yesterday, Victoria Water Street, Novaco's former employee testified against Novakoff alleging that he blackmailed and abused her during her time working for Novak's businesses. It's another blow for the former Russian oligarch who has been accused of controlling the hacking collective electronica and was extradited to the United States nine months ago from the United Kingdom after a dramatic hack of his soccer stadium.
Radio DJ (24:23): Good afternoon, Big Sky, Montana. If you are at work right now, what is your freaking problem? There are eight fresh inches of powder paradise waiting, and we're predicting 28 more inches of snow over the next three days.
Ski Lift Attendent (24:55): Enjoy the snow, but watch where you step. It's getting a little icy. Thanks.
Kaden (25:03): Whoa, Daniel, watch your step.
Daniel (25:05): It's hard to walk around in these things.
Kaden (25:09): I told you not to wear those boots, man. Oh my god.
Daniel (25:12): And I told you to leave my boots by the heater. My good boots are soaking wet now. I'm stuck with the crap ones.
Kaden (25:17): Bro. We live in a camper van. It is zero degrees at night. There is not enough room by the heater for me. And your boots.
Alice (25:27): Daniel. Daniel.
Daniel (25:32): Whoa, Alice?
Alice (25:36): Yeah. Hey.
Daniel (25:39): Alice.
Kaden (25:40): The gamer chick that got away.
Daniel: That's not what happened. Kaden, shut up please.
News Announcer (25:48): Well, until you tell me what actually happened, that's going to be my head cannon.
Daniel (25:50): Oh my God.
Kaden (25:51): Yeah. I've been brushing up on my returns too.
Daniel (25:54): Please stop. It's what happens when you share a van with this guy. Could you please just go away for just a couple minutes please, please. Sure. I'll meet you at the gondola. I am sorry about him.
Alice (26:09): It's fine.
Daniel (26:13): So…
Alice (26:16): Hi…
Daniel (26:17): Small world, huh?
Alice (26:18): Yeah. Yeah. I moved out here to Big Sky like a year ago. It just was like time for a new chapter. I don't know. Long story.
Daniel (26:33): That's awesome. It's way cool. Yeah. Me and Kaden are doing this van life thing, digital nomads.
Alice (26:45): Oh wow.
Daniel (26:48): Wow.
Alice (26:49): Yeah. Katie and I were doing that in Europe for a little bit. It was like a lot of fun, but we just went from city to city. We didn't do van life.
Daniel (27:02): That sounds amazing. That sounds so much better than sharing a van with Kaden.
Alice (27:08): Yeah. Okay. I get that.
Daniel (27:12): But we're snowboarding a ton and that part is awesome, at least.
Alice (27:15): Yeah. I mean, take it where you can get it.
Daniel (27:18): Yeah. Right. I was thinking, and gosh, if you told me two years ago that I'd be obsessed with snowboarding out of everything.
Alice (27:29): Well, yeah.
Daniel (27:33): Life's full of surprises.
Alice (27:36): Yeah, you could say. So. Case in point,
Kaden (27:45): Daniel, are you coming?
Daniel: Oh my. I'm sorry.
Alice (27:50): It's okay. It's okay.
Daniel (27:51): I better get going.
Alice (27:52): Yeah, it's fine.
Daniel (28:01): Look before I go.
Alice (28:04): Yeah.
Daniel (28:05): Did you see the thing on the news a few months back about those hackers that exposed Andre Novakoff, the Russian oligarch, the guy with the soccer team?
Alice (28:18): I mean, I might've seen the headlines. I guess
Daniel (28:22): I saw their hacker handle was the magic lamp. They also had this line, something about a fish. It sounded a little familiar.
Alice (28:42): Yeah, that must've just been a pretty big coincidence.
Daniel (28:53): So…Coincidence or not, I thought it was pretty cool.
Alice (29:02): Yeah, it was pretty cool,
Kaden (29:06):
Bro. Either shoot your shot or shred. Let's go.
Daniel: Well, I better get going.
Alice (29:13): Yeah. Okay, cool. Then I'll…
Daniel (29:18): See you around?
Alice (29:19): Yeah, I'll see you around.
US Marshall (29:37): One second, Alice, I'm sorry. I think I accidentally turned the recorder off. I know we're at the end of this, but I still have to formally conclude for the record.
Alice (29:47): Hey, you do you?
US Marshall (29:52): Okay, there we go. There we go. For the record, this is US Marshall Melton little page with the United States Federal Witness Protection Program. I accidentally turned this recorder off, and I'm concluding my interview with Alice Mitnick, currently living under the identity of Helen Van Zant in Big Sky, Montana. So I guess I can turn this off now officially. There we go. Any questions?
Alice (30:23): I don't know. How's Dmitri doing?
US Marshall (30:26): Well, officially I can't tell you, but knowing what he put you through, let's just say he's not very happy about the mobile home in New Mexico. He placed him in and he complains about it a heck of a lot. So much so. I don't know if we can accommodate his needs, have a comment.
Alice (30:52): No, I'm just, God, I'm so glad to be here in one piece.
US Marshall (31:00): Of course. We'll keep you posted on potential threats. Your testimony against Mr. Novaco was invaluable. He'll likely go to prison for the rest of his life, but there's a very high probability that you'll have to continue in witness protection for at least the foreseeable future. I know that's not something you want to hear…
Alice (31:23): I've said my goodbyes.
US Marshall (31:28): Well, Alice, Helen, you are free to go and good luck with the piano lessons. I think it's a great idea for someone with your talents. It's not often people find that level of professional satisfaction while they're in the program.
Alice (31:43): You know me, I'm all about the program.
US Marshall (31:46): I'll see you next month. And by the way, Alice,
Alice (31:51): Yeah?
US Marshall (31:53): Don't be so hard on yourself. You did a good thing, and that's more than a lot of us ever get to do.
Alice (32:02): Yeah. Thanks.
US Marshall (32:05): You want to follow me out?
Alice (32:09): I just need a second.
US Marshall (32:11): Okay.
Credits (32:38): The Hacker Chronicles, presented By Tenable. Learn more at tenable.com/alice. Starring Michael C. Hall as John Doe and Chloe Taylor as Alice Executive, produced by Michael C. Hall, Jerome, Robert Skyler Schonski and Ian Faison, directed by Rex New, written for audio by Rex New Jerome, Robert and Skyler Shamsky. Story based on the novella, the Hacker Chronicles, created by Jerome Robert and written by Skylar Mansky with Nicole Britton as Katie Levi Squire as tech support. Alex McTavish as Lindsay Hans Walker. Hauser as Jason Douglas Thornton as David, and the weather reporter Dan Scott as the Magic Lamp by Lab Britton as the piano student, Michael Capra as the US Marshall Melton little page Mark Wolf Roberts as the newscaster. Sj Nichols as the lift operator. Rex knew as Caden and John Catona. As Jeannie the Hacker Chronicles is produced by Caspian Studios, produced by Taylor Brimm. And Rex New, produced by Dan Kerley, supervising creative producer, Landon FIUs, sound Design by Dan Scott and Zach Dingman. Sound mixing by Dan Scott Jacob's. Celebration is composed by Joshua Glenn Wilson, and performed by Joshua Glenn Wilson and Chloe Taylor, associate producer Mark Wolf Roberts dialogue, editing by Nick Cana. Product support by SJ Nichols, Bradley Glands Rock, John Libby and Danny Goddard. Marketing support from Dino Pait, Kyle Ruka, Dylan Langly and Rock Bull. Additional production support provided by Echo Mountain Studios.
Alice (35:02): Okay, time to go.