Bishop quotes from Sneakers (1992)

And then, there's Martin Bishop...[looks at a folder while Martin has a blank stare. Wallace turns the folder to show it has no papers] He doesn't seem to have a past.

I'm sorry, but I don't work for the government.

We do. [Shows a card] National Security Agency.

Ah. You're the guys I hear breathing on the other end of my phone.

No, that's the FBI. We're not chartered for domestic surveillance.

Oh, I see. You just overthrow governments. Set up friendly dictators.

No, that's the CIA. We protect our government's communications, we try to break the other fella's codes. We're the good guys, Marty.

Gee, I can't tell you what a relief that is...Dick.

Change your mind, call us at this number... [gives Bishop a folded piece of paper] Mr. Brice.

The probable level of security is very low. But if you guys don't want to take that chance just to keep me out of jail, fine, I understand, I'll do it.

Whistler

Well, Bish, I can't speak for the other guys, but I'm in it for the money, I don't care if you go to jail.

Carl

Me neither. I'm in.

Mother

Uh... could we maybe just go back to the "they might kill us" part?

Mother, if I thought that was likely to happen, I wouldn't bring this to you. But there is a risk.

Whistler

And it pays $175,000!

Mother

I'm in.

You guys will be chalk outlines without me. All right, what do we need?

Carl?

Carl

I'd like to have a deep relationship with a beautiful woman who melts from the very first time our eyes meet.

We're not getting paid that much, Carl.

Carl

Well, you know, someone like Liz.

We're definitely not getting paid that much.

Oh, my God.

Mother

How is this possible?

Whistler

Cryptography systems are based on mathematical problems so complex they cannot be solved without a key.

Jannek figured out a way to solve those problems without the key and he hard-wired it into that chip.

Turn it off.

Whistler

Want to crash some passenger jets?

I said turn it off. Turn it off. [shuts down computer]

Carl

So, it's a code-breaker.

No, it's The code-breaker. No more secrets. [leaves]

Don't tell me you can't do it because I know you can. And don't tell me you won't do it because I've got to have it. I need to know, and I need to know now.

Mother

Guys, that federal building's been scheduled for demolition since August. Housed the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Agriculture. Been vacant for a month.

Carl Arbogast

The NSA never had an office in San Francisco. Their West Coast operations are out of Los Angeles.

Oh, God. Yeah, thanks. [hangs up] Jannek's grant is from the NSA. [throws phone in disgust; to Marty] How could you be so goddamn stupid?!? Two guys show up, say they're government, and you just buy it.

Whistler

They probably were government [everybody looks at him] - just not ours.

Everybody pack up whatever you can. This place isn't safe. [gets revolver]

Mother

What are you doing?

I'm going to a concert.

There I was in prison, and one day I helped some nice older gentlemen make some free telephone calls. They turned out to be... let us say, good family men.

Organized crime?

Ha, don't kid yourself. It's not that organized.

In prison I learned that everything in this world, including money, operates not on reality...

...but the perception of reality.

Posit: people think a bank might be financially shaky.

Consequence: people start to withdraw their money.

Result: pretty soon it is financially shaky.

Conclusion: you can make banks fail.

Bzzt. I've already done that. Maybe you've heard about a few? Think bigger.

Stock market?

Yes.

Currency market?

Yes.

Commodities market?

Yes.

Small countries?

With luck, I might even be able to crash the whole damned system. Destroy all records of ownership. Think of it, Marty. No more rich people, no more poor people, everybody's the same, isn't that what we said we always wanted?

Cos, you haven't gone crazy on me, have you?

Who else is going to change the world, Marty? Greenpeace?

You could have had the power.

I don't want it.

Don't you know the places we can go with this?

Yeah, I do. There's nobody there.

Exactly! The world isn't run by weapons anymore, or energy, or money, it's run by little ones and zeroes, little bits of data. It's all just electrons.

I don't care. [walks away]

I don't expect other people to understand this but I do expect you to understand this. We started this journey together.

It wasn't a journey, Cos. It was a prank.

There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!

If I were you, I'd destroy that thing.

Don't go. [aims at Bish's head as he prepares to go down the ladder] Don't go.

You do what you have to do, Cos, but if you want to stop me, you'll have to pull the trigger. You. [leaves]

Carl?

Carl

The, uh, young lady with the Uzi, is she single?

Uh, you know, Carl. [sets Carl aside] Carl, this is the brass ring. Now you've got to think bigger thoughts.

Carl

I just want her telephone number, that's all. Please?

Hey Abby, how about a lunch? You can chaperon.

No, I will not do this. [Male NSA agents smirk]

Hey, Abby, Abby, come on, now the FBI'd give him twins-

NO!

Wait a second. You can have anything you want, and you're asking for my phone number?

Carl

Yes.

273-9164. Area code 415.

Carl

Thanks. I'm Carl. [offers hand]

I'm Mary.

I'm going to be sick. Are we done here?

Not yet. Whistler?

Whistler

I want peace on earth and good will toward man.

Oh, this is ridiculous.

He's serious.

Whistler

I want peace on earth and goodwill toward men.

We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.

You're just gonna have to try.

All right, I'll see what I can do.

Whistler

Thank you very much. That's all I ask.

Before we begin, something we need to clear up. Most firms of this kind are staffed with ex-law enforcement types, but your team, it's...

I know, kind of different.

Yes, you are. [opens file] Darryl Roscow, also known as "Mother." Eighteen months at Dannemora for breaking and entering.

Yeah, he was framed. But he's got the best hands in the business.

Carl Arbogast, age 19. Caught breaking into the Oakland City School District computer to change his grades.

I know, we're the ones who caught him.

Erwin Emory, also known as "Whistler."

Yeah, yeah, I know, he had a little trouble with the phone company...

Sixty-two counts?

All right, you want law enforcement? What about Donald Crease? Twenty-two year veteran of the CIA-

Terminated, 1987. Why was that?

I don't know, I think maybe a personality conflict. Who are you guys?

Relax, Marty. We have to check on these things. It's just that every member of your team has had some kind of problem in their past.

And then, there's Martin Bishop...[looks at a folder while Martin has a blank stare. Wallace turns the folder to show it has no papers] He doesn't seem to have a past.

I'm sorry, but I don't work for the government.

We do. [Shows a card] National Security Agency.

Ah. You're the guys I hear breathing on the other end of my phone.

No, that's the FBI. We're not chartered for domestic surveillance.

Oh, I see. You just overthrow governments. Set up friendly dictators.

No, that's the CIA. We protect our government's communications, we try to break the other fella's codes. We're the good guys, Marty.

Gee, I can't tell you what a relief that is...Dick.

Change your mind, call us at this number... [gives Bishop a folded piece of paper before he and Wallace leave] Mr. Brice.