Come on, Hicks.
This is for your all-time best.
Yay.
I'm the champion, the champion!
Yes!
I gotta call Margaret.
Come on!
Hey, hey, hey.
What's going... What's going on?
The pressure's through the roof.
We've got elevated methane.
We've got to go down and vent the pumps.
-Give me a boost. -Yeah, yeah.
Yeow!
Damn.
You okay? You okay?
Empty out the pipes.
Turn off the lights!
The lights!
Damn, we punctured the crust.
We drilled way too deep!
What is that?
-What is that? -Look out!
God!
Well, I'd say I owe you one.
We're going to have to turn off the valve
on the pressure relief valve.
Yeah.
Come on!
Holy crap!
Come on, come on, come on!
Good.
Move it, move it, move it!
Go!
Come on, move it.
Go! Go!
No!
Forget it, man. Come on!
Don't give up, buddy!
Come on!
No word yet from the USGS,
but we've had three calls from Long Beach
about a little shake tonight.
Come on, kids.
This is L.A. Get used to it.
Now back to your daily run
of your favorite L.A. music.
All right, now look to your left.
My left or yours?
I don't know which way you're facing!
I don't see anything.
I don't see any camping stuff.
It's, it's behind the box marked Christmas.
-There's Christmas stuff, behind it. -Hello.
Hey. I thought you weren't picking her up until later this evening.
I just wanted to see if she wanted to hang out with the old man.
Mom, I don't see any... Okay.
-I found it. -Okay, good.
-What's she looking for? -Heads up!
Wait! Going camping?
Me, with Cindy. Crap. She's gonna be here any minute.
Hey, I thought we had plans for tonight.
Do you really think Pizza and Redbox qualifies as plans?
Sorry, Dad. We'll do something next week, okay?
No, no, it's not okay.
You can't just, you know,
cancel on someone at the last minute.
Really?
Hey, just tell Cindy's parents
that you've made a commitment and that we are...
Her parents aren't going!
Ma, I can't find the tent.
Well, it's up there... somewhere.
Wait. Hang on a second. There's no chaperone, did you know about this?
What do you want her to do? Sit around and pray that you don't stand her up again?
She's got her own life, you know.
Yeah and I would appreciate not being cut out of it completely.
It's three days in a national park. They'll be fine.
Hey, you want to go camping? Hey, that's great.
You know, I'm going to be up there.
I'm breaking ground at Station Five.
You can hang out with your old man.
Pass.
Look, it is dangerous up there in the woods, you know.
What would you do if you ran into bears?
Never sleep in their beds,
sit in their chairs, or eat their porridge.
Look, I'm not comfortable with this.
Two girls alone in the woods...
Derrick and his friends will be there.
Hang on. There's boys? That is worse than bears.
You, you knew about this?
Dad!
You have to trust me.
You know I can take care of myself.
Okay.
Thanks, Dad.
Just promise me...
If you run into your grandmother wearing a nightie,
just double check... Might be a wolf.
Sure thing, Dad.
Plus, grandma's way furrier,
and she has thumbs!
All right. Do you have your checklist?
Could be nothing.
Probably nothing.
Okay.
And now it's something.
Dr. Gladstone, a delightful surprise.
How many calls have we had this morning?
Just eight.
No, I haven't seen last night's seismographs.
I haven't even had a cup of cof...
God!
Doc, it's my first day.
Can't we just...
The L.A. basin always shows signs
of deep crust activity when...
Intensifying aftershocks? Pre-shocks?
Don't you think that's a little farfetched?
Okay, I'll... I'll look into it.
Doc, I'll look into it.
I promise.
Drunk as could be.
Looks the broad right in the face and says,
"If that's not a banana,
What's it doing in my cornflakes?"
Who wants more champagne?
We're out!
Don't start without me!
I've got the bubbles.
Who's ready for the...?
-Nice car. -Thanks.
You, you checked the fluids?
Yep, changed the oil this week.
What about these? When's the last time you had them rotated?
I think three months ago.
You think, or you know?
I know.
The receipts are in the glove compartment.
What's in the cooler?
Just food and soda, sir.
Better be!
Hey.
Damn, Nicki. Your dad is way protective.
Well, this weekend he might have a reason to be.
-What, what are you planning? -Nothing!
Mind your business.
Is it something dangerous?
My God!
If, if it is, then we should all be informed of it.
Do you have firearms?
-No. -Of course not!
Fireworks? They can be lethal... Especially in the forest.
You know, Southern California has very dry summers.
Shut it, Toblosky, or we're leaving you behind.
You better not be blabbing the whole way or so help me, God,
I will just dump your ass in the middle of the desert,
and I don't care if you're paying for gas.
-I'm not putting up with it. -Okay, Warner.
God!
-Jeez! -This is ridiculous!
Your dad is a mammoth pain in the ass.
What is he like... A Scottish Mountie or something?
He's an engineer for a fracking company.
What the frack is fracking?
It's actually very cool... And very controversial.
You know, what they do is they...
They drill like a mile down into the earth's crust
looking for, you know, natural gases and oil.
Then when they find it, they drill sideways
and let off a series of explosions
and finally they force it out
with millions of gallons of pressurized water.
What did I just say?
Well, we're not driving!
Okay. Calm down.
Jeez, Warner.
Ok, I think we're ready to go.
Awesome!
Hey... Okay.
I will be right up there if you want to see the rig...
7 p.m.-that's when we're turning all the pumps on.
It's going to be quite a sight.
Yeah, we'll be sure to stop by.
Can we please go now?
One last question...
How many beers before it's no longer safe to drive?
Dad! Derrick, don't answer that question.
Well, actually it's the blood alcohol...
Hey, I'm asking him, not you.
Come on, tough guy.
-Nothing. -One beer.
No. Wrong!
You're under 21.
That's it, young lady. Out of the car!
Come on. No.
Dad, stop it!
All right. You just...
You call me if there's any problems, okay?
No trouble, you hear?
Yes, sir.
Thanks, Dad.
Bye.
Sorry.
Too possessive Jack. You keep it up,
you're going to push her away even more.
It's just the dysfunctional stuff. Am I too involved or not enough?
Being overprotective isn't the same as being supportive.
You've got to start trusting her.
What about that GPS tracking app that you put in her cell?
Yeah, but that's different.
Really?
Yeah.
Hey, yeah.
Hey, boss. Yeah.
I'm I'm running a little bit late.
I've just got to pick up Hector and I'll be on my way.
Before you head there, I need you to stop by
Pump Station Three.
We've got a little spike,
then the station went dead.
We lost all our readings.
Come on, move it! Let's go!
Come on, move it!
Okay, yeah, wha-what about Paxton?
Yeah, I haven't heard back.
He pulled an all-nighter so he's probably crashed out.
What is your problem?
Today, please! Today!
Yeah, and security?
That drunk is probably passed out, too.
He's as big of an idiot as this moron
in front of me.
Move it, toots!
It's not like Paxton not to check in, though.
This is L.A., 55 means 70.
Pick it up, Grandma!
Ho, nice!
Hey, Jack, I'll see you this afternoon.
It's a big day, man.
I can't wait 'til we turn on...
Would you look at this guy?
Stay in your lane, idiot!
Listen, I've, I've got to go.
Sounds like it's going to be one of those days.
Sorry.
Yeah, sorry to pile it on, but could you just sign this
and mail it in whenever you can?
Sure.
Hello?
Hi. I'm looking for Dr. Booker.
Could you, point me in the right direction?
Hello?
Mi-Miss?
Hi there.
Dr. Schiffman.
Not Dr. Schiffman.
Yes. It's the second time I've been called doctor today.
I'm not quite used to it.
Emily's fine, sir.
Michael.
I will show you around here.
Am I early?
What time does everyone show up?
I'm afraid this is it. Budget cuts, you know?
I'm actually a little surprised they hired you,
although I can use the company and the help, especially today.
This has been a very funny morning.
We've had 15 reports since last night
and I can't make a lick of sense of it.
So I've heard.
Gladstone.
Yeah. I met him last year
at a paleo-earthquake seminar at Berkley
and somehow I became his new best friend.
Yeah, that guy... He's like a mutt...
You pet him once, he never leaves your lap.
He heard my thesis and he had to meet me!
Yes, I read that thesis.
It was on containment...
-Epicenter. -Yeah.
Epicenter containment, yeah.
-Yeah, it was quite... -Ridiculous?
No, I wasn't going to say that.
No, it's okay,
my, my professors thought the same thing.
However, that ingenious theory did earn me a strong C minus.
And a job at the glorious USGS.
Yeah, you know, you would think the state
would make this place more of a priority.
Well, I do have a 24-hour hotline to the governor
anytime I need it.
Really? What's he like?
I've never met him, so...
Also, there is the sign-up sheet for the company softball league.
So far it's just me.
I play first base.
-Okay. -Yeah.
Here's the rules for using the kitchen microwave,
dah-dah, dah, dah.
And over here is your workstation.
Now, we have been getting calls all morning
about tremor activity, okay?
Nothing major, no major damage...
Just broken glass, things flying off the shelves.
The thing is, the major scales...
They haven't registered anything above a semi passing by.
Okay, so what can I do?
Well, we have 300 sensors in the L.A. river basin.
These reports are from the last 12 hours.
I'm gonna need you to look through there,
see if there's any unusual peaks.
Is this some sort of new-guy hazing?
Don't you have some intern
or a computer equipped to do this?
We barely have enough money for staples for this stapler.
I shouldn't have used that one.
Sorry, kid. Just you and me, honey.
Dude!
Dude?
Nate down in Palms.
Callers told us a big sinkhole just opened up
right in the middle of Robertson.
Check this out, though.
Got a call from a guy dining across the street
who says he didn't feel a thing.
-That's the third one today. -Yeah.
We've got the Twiggies coming up next.
So stick around.
Hey.
You got your release papers?
What? Give me that.
The final nail in the coffin.
So, so what's the plan?
We hitting the strip clubs or you surfing online?
More women? God, no.
No, I've got my hands full as it is anyway.
The little one's on your ass, too?
Yeah, not so little anymore.
Eighteen.
Eighteen?
So she's in that get-away-from-me stage.
Pretty much.
"I hate you, Dad! Get out of my room!"
You know it.
"I hope you die so I could take my inheritance,
move to Vegas and start whoring on a strip."
Went too far with that?
What is wrong with you?
Still, not too far off the truth, you know?
I remember when I used to be a hero,
and now I'm just this annoying embarrassment.
You know, women. You can't live with them...
Still, the lady who's really busting my balls
isn't Steph or Nicole.
I hear you, man.
This job is the worst bitch I've ever known.
Been my wife for over two years now...
Two long, miserable years of ruthless spousal abuse, man.
Look, look, look at these bruises.
Well, hopefully today this marriage pays off for both of us.
It better.
It will.
I have a very good feeling.
Next in line, fast! Go, go.
Spin around.
Okay.
No, no, no, Gladstone.
We don't have that information, but we're trying.
You don't even know my mother!
There are some serious anomalies
in the deep crust strata.
Okay, hold on, hold on. What did you find?
Here. At 2:17 this morning,
a 2.1 with an epicenter south of the city...
That's just the beginning.
Do you hear that, Marcus?
What, no speakerphone?
No money.
2:41, 3:05, 3:56.
They're escalating on a graduating curve,
radiating out from the epicenter.
The last one was 12 miles away and twice the force.
Marcus, how reliable is this data?
Well, we're going to need everything,
especially if we're doing what you're suggesting.
-What, what is... -I'm sending Emily down there.
Take her to the epicenter, collect the data,
compare it against the Mercalli scale.
But we're going to need an eyewitness account
if you expect me to pull the trigger on this thing.
What's he want you to do?
Evacuate Los Angeles.
Paxton!
Hicks. Yo, where you at?
What is that, sulphur?
Paxton, Hicks?
Hey, Hector. Check it out.
That don't look good, Chief.
Man, we are bringing up all kinds of stuff
that we shouldn't be anywhere near drilling.
Paxton, Hicks?
Sure is humid down there.
You know, humidity can trigger an asthma attack.
So?
You don't have asthma.
It does make my hair really frizzy.
You get down there!
All right. I'll check it out.
That can't be right.
Glorious morning to you.
I'm sorry. I have the wrong...
You're here for Marcus.
Come in. Come in.
I'll take you to him.
Can I get you an Evian?
No. I'm fine.
My husband's been working away all night.
He's in a heckuva tizzy.
Who's your husband?
Marcus.
This makes no sense.
Babycakes, your visitor's here.
Dr. Schiffman. Thank heavens!
This makes sense.
Off to save the city.
Will you be back for dinner?
Don't know.
Well, stop and get cupcakes on your way home.
Cupcakes?
What's wrong with you, woman?
I just said I'm off to save Los Angeles.
So, what? Cheesecake?
Yes, cheesecake.
L.A., man... 55 means 70!
Stupid foreigners!
I don't think that Wisconsin's a foreign territory.
Yeah, well, who asked you?
Racist and rude.
Can't he just focus on one blatant stereotype?
I choose to be unnecessarily violent.
Stop it, Warner.
What?
You're such a jerk!
I'm a jerk? How?
Bud, put on your seatbelt, will you?
I can't. I need easy access to dork kid over there.
You knew he was gonna pick on the whole time.
Why'd you even come?
Entomology Club.
The California National Forest is crawling with, like,
10,000 species in the formicidae family.
I'm just saying I'm a geek who gets off on bugs, yuk-yuk.
Leave him alone!
Why you sticking up for him?
What, you got the hots for this tool?
No!
She's has her eyes on somebody else.
Well, call me flattered.
Shut up, Warner!
Hey, easy. Not in the car.
I'm driving.
They better not jump out and scare us.
I've got a weak heart.
Paxton!
This is Paxton's phone.
There's something not right here.
Who's the idiot...
Is that...
Yeah, that's...
Go, go, go, go, go!
Go, come on. Get up!
I can't move it, Chief.
That's the only way out of here
because this tunnel's collapsed.
Help!
Anyone, we're trapped down here!
Hey, conserve... Conserve your oxygen.
There's no one out there.
The only people who worked here
are buried under 50 tons of concrete.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women.
Blessed is...
That's a great prayer.
That's a great way to conserve oxygen.
What the...
You guys really screwed the pooch, didn't you?
That's weird.
Is your sleeping bag up there?
What about it?
I don't know. The material looks a little thin.
It could get cold inside.
You think so?
I, might know a way to make it a little warmer.
Guess that's settled.
Looks like we're hooking up this weekend.
So...
It's possible,
but I think there's a better chance
of you getting your face smashed in.
But can't we do both?
Teddy, let's go!
Come on, dude. I want to stop and get something to eat.
All these small earthquakes, that was you.
You fractured a fault.
You know what?
We have followed regulation to the letter.
Who the hell are you guys anyway?
USGS.
Uggs?
Them boots Tom Brady wears?
United States Geological Survey.
Look, there's not been one recorded seismic incident
convincingly linked to fracking.
The only thing that's going on here
is an outflow valve malfunction...
Most likely.
All this is from today.
Starting here... here.
And following these lines radiating around
from this point here and here, flowing out.
It's epicenter dispersal.
In the worst possible way.
You see, the entire Los Angeles basin
is a network of deep faults...
The San Andreas system.
Ever heard of it?
This data suggests the fluids
being forced at high pressure
underneath this station produced these microfissures
which reach all the way down to the primary fault lines.
Causing this ripple effect.
And now all these new cracks are popping up
all along the deeper fault lines
which makes the entire L.A. basin unstable.
-What? -What do you mean, unstable?
You're predicting a massive earthquake?
At first, the city will suffer
hundreds of highly localized mini earthquakes.
The scope of impact can range from the size
of a small house to an entire city block.
Unless you were standing right on top of a fissure,
you probably wouldn't even know it.
And when enough of these microfissures branch out
and cut back to their original primary fault lines...
What?
The basin will collapse.
That, that is ridiculous!
Can I borrow this?
Marcus?
This is going to be great.
Hey, what are you...
Hey, what's wrong with you?
You see, when these microfissures come together,
the upper strata gets weaker and weaker until...
The L.A. basin caves in.
It's a virtual 10.0.
The big one!
Dios mio!
Well, I'm going to jump at the opportunity
to use indoor plumbing for the last time this weekend.
Excuse me.
I like your shirt, Derrick.
Looks soft. Is it cotton?
Probably a cotton/polyester blend.
Ahem.
Hey, check this out. This is interesting.
Redwood ants have chemo receptors
for carbon dioxide gradients
and magnetic receptors for electromagnetic fields.
Okay, researchers found that before an earthquake,
ants stay awake all throughout the night,
outside their mound, vulnerable to predators,
and they'll stay that way,
doing nothing until a day after the quake.
I think that's what these guys are doing.
You're saying ants can sense
when an earthquake is about to strike?
Well, the University Duisberg-Essen in Germany is.
I think they're right.
It's a big one.
Stop that! You're going to...
Put it down, put it down.
Stop that!
I've got to take a leak, too.
Teddy, take care of that, all right?
Yeah.
What are you doing in here?
What do you think?
I don't know.
Okay. Just slow down.
Maybe not in here.
What's your problem?
We're in a bathroom.
Aw, come on. You know you want it just as bad as I do.
No, Derrick. Let's go back out there.
What, if you want some privacy,
-we can just go in a stall. -No, I don't want privacy.
I don't want privacy, Derrick.
Stop!
Let me out. Let me out!
Stop being such a prude.
Okay.
I said stop, Derrick!
I guess the ants were right.
Look, unless you've got a subpoena,
I can't show you the operating logs.
Look, I'm just the engineer.
I don't have the authority.
This is the owner's direct number.
I'm sure he'll be happy to cooperate.
Yes, that'll happen.
Here is my number.
Call me if you need anything.
I'm just really sorry about your people.
Thanks.
If there's anything you think we should do on our side...
Well, if I were you, I'd hire a lawyer
and prepare for 20 years in prison.
Of course, you might luck out and die in the earthquake.
Sorry. Hope the rest of your day goes better.
You think they're right that we caused this?
I don't know.
Maybe.
Come on, damn it.
Why don't you answer?
Nicole?
Yeah. She and her friends...
They're headed straight for the...
Hey. Yeah, listen, it's me.
Listen, are you sitting down?
Paxton and Hicks are dead.
The access tunnel collapsed, and guess who I just had
a very long and frightening conversation with?
Yeah, the f'ing USGS.
Jack, listen to me.
They're just looking for someone to blame, okay.
Calm down, calm down. Listen to me.
Once we go live, we'll scale back for a few days.
Everything will be cool. All right?
But these aren't regulators.
These are scientists who are sure
that we are responsible for every single sinkhole
that is happening across the city.
Well, Hold on, hold on.
Slow your horses.
What's going on?
Earthquakes?
You follow protocol, right?
I mean, my schematics to a T,
because if I find out that you drilled too deep...
We are not opening Station Five tonight.
Why? Because we have two employees
who died a heluva gruesome...
This, this is a PR nightmare.
And if you want to escalate the problem...
Look, Ritter, my daughter is up there.
Now just promise me
that you will shut down every single station
until we can find out exactly what went wrong.
You have my word.
Just take care of your family,
and I'll take care of things up here, okay?
Later.
God damn it!
Hey Hector, call your family.
Send them south. Then head to five,
make sure Ritter doesn't do anything stupid.
-I don't trust that guy. -Who does?
What about the bodies?
I'll call the police on the way.
I'm going to get my family, and I'll meet you up there as soon as possible.
First of all, it's the zone...
The Alquist Priolo zone
which as Dr. Parrish mentioned,
has the greatest potential for surface fault rupture
which is much more likely to cause damage
and, and death and injury.
It's limited to an area
around the base of the Hollywood Hills.
Much of Hollywood is not affected by this map.
Earthquake?
It's an earthquake.
My God!
Help!
-Steph! -Jack!
Where's your phone? Where's your phone?
In the kitchen, in the kitchen.
God!
What are you doing? Come on.
Come on! Let's go!
-What? -Let's go!
My God!
Okay, all right. Come on. Let's go!
Go? Go where? What do you mean?
We have to find our daughter. Come on.
God!
Be aware of wolves.
-You say something? -No.
Guys, maybe, maybe we should just go back.
What?
Why? Because of that little tremble?
Those aftershocks are happening all over the place.
Everybody's Twitter on Twitter.
That's funny.
What is?
Your Twit... Never mind.
Look, I think Nicole's right.
I was reading about these really intense sinkholes
before I ran out of juice.
By the way, can I, can I use your phone charger?
No, I'm using it and we're not turning around.
You guys are worried about sinkholes.
Seriously?
Yeah, come on. We're already here anyway.
Woo-hoo!
What's the matter, boy?
Relax, relax.
I felt that, too.
That can't be right.
It's right here.
Hey, hey, hey, baby.
I just want to tell you that I love you
and you mean absolutely the world to me
and I just wanted you to know that time in Cabo
when you were passed out, yes,
I-I did hook up with the concierge, but it didn't mean anything.
If you can just find it in your heart to just for...
Hey, baby, if you could just disregard that message.
I'll see you when you get home.
Love you, Dennis.
That was close.
He's still not answering.
Well, then try someone else.
There must be 100 bureaucrats at the USGS
who'll take your call.
I bet he's just buried in paperwork.
If the evacuation doesn't begin soon,
the consequences will be catastrophic.
There must be someone in authority we can call.
I don't know who. It's, it's my first day,
and they sure as heck won't listen to me.
What?
What do you mean, it's your fault?
Look, it might be.
Look, the tremors might...
might have been caused by one of our fracking stations.
Jack, this is so like you.
Yeah, that's right.
So like me because I've got a long history
of starting earthquakes.
Let's see, now, Northridge, yeah, that was me.
Philippines, yeah, that was me again.
You know, you put our family last
and that's pretty much the same.
-Yeah. -That is...
You know, that is unbelievable because...
Ok, hang on...
-What? -I think I found her.
What is it? You found Nicole?
Send her a text
and just keep an eye on where she is.
Come on, move it, people.
Come on, Nicole. Just show us where you are.
Just let us know you're okay.
Guys...
guys, we need to go back, like, now.
What? Why?
I'm serious. We're in real danger here.
All right, here we go.
Why, what did you read?
Seriously, Nicole.
I'm tired of it.
Stop being such a bitch, okay?
This isn't your truck
and you're not...
Jesus!
She stopped moving.
God, she stopped moving!
That's good.
It means she set up camp.
Okay, so it's a good thing.
All right.
Okay.
God!
-Well... -Where are you going?
-What are you doing? -Taking a shortcut.
Taking a shortcut to the Ronald Reagan.
There'll be a little bit more traffic on the five,
but after that it should be smooth sailing until the forest.
Let's hope so.
Don't worry.
The worst is behind us.
Dr. Booker!
Michael!
Help me get this off of him!
There's no point in digging him out.
We need to get going.
We can't just leave him.
Yes, we can.
If you want to fish him out and take him with us,
I call shotgun.
How could you be so callous?
Years of practice.
Fudge nuggets!
What? How bad is it?
Horrible for everyone in Los Angeles except you.
Why not me?
You just got a promotion.
Let's go!
Do you think she's okay?
Yeah, don't worry.
You know, the cell service is one of the first things
to always go down.
Trust me.
Nicole's much safer out of the city anyway.
I mean, how do you know? Are you just saying that?
-Are you sure... -No, look.
-To make me feel better? -Just, just imagine
That the earth's crust over L.A. is like a broken windshield.
I don't understand.
Like the crust is like a windshield.
I don't understand what you're saying.
I really need a hammer to explain.
Holy...
-I see it. -Faster!
Hold on!
-Jesus. -Faster!
Faster!
Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee.
Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners now...
Are you praying? When did you start praying?
I just picked it up!
Jack, Jack, I-I... I lost the phone.
What? What?
-We need that to find Nicole. -I know. I'm sorry.
It just slipped out of my hands into nothing.
Look,just, here, just take the wheel.
-God! -Take the wheel.
And don't stop driving. Come on, take it!
-Okay. -Take it!
I got it!
-You got it? -Yeah!
Be careful!
Steph, steady!
I'm trying!
Crap!
I got it!
I got it, I got it, Steph.
God!
Steph, what are you doing?
Hold on!
My God!
Steph, geez!
I think this is a bigger problem
than a broken windshield.
Guys, help!
Guys! Come help!
Hey, Teddy, are you okay?
Where are we?
I can not hold on much longer. Please, please. Help me!
Cindy?
My God!
Derrick, Cindy!
You guys, help!
God!
Jesus, fuck, that's... That's high!
-We have to get out of here. -Guys, the windshield.
-My God! -Where's Warner?
Guys, the windshield.
Help!
No, no, no.
Help!
God damn it!
We're coming, Warner.
I don't want to die!
What do we do? What do we do? Should we put it in reverse?
I don't know, but we've got to do something!
Keep your weight on the car.
Hey, hey, hey. That's not such a wise idea.
Nobody asked you!
Guys, come on, come on.
We're coming!
Damn it!
Cindy...
We're gonna keep holding.
You're gonna make your way over to Warner
and give him this strap.
You'll pull him up?
Once he's got the strap...
We let go of the car?
We grab the strap and we all pull him in together.
What the hell is taking you so long?
We're gonna do this, Cindy.
Okay.
Mother of... wait!
We're coming.
Warner?
Cindy?
I'm gonna hand you the end, okay?
Okay, please hurry. Hurry.
Okay, ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.
-Catch! -Come on.
You've got to get it closer, please.
-You got it? -No!
What is going on up there, guys?
Cindy, come on!
I'm trying, I'm trying!
Cindy, come on. We can't hold it!
Teddy, you moth...
Catch!
On the count of three.
-All right, let's go! -Ready?
Yeah, I'm ready.
One...
Two...
Goddamn it!
Three.
Fuck!
No! No!
Damn it!
Nobody's picking up at L.A. Emergency either.
Great!
What are you doing? Don't stop!
We're in a code red here. We got carte blanche!
I already have two points on my license!
Who cares?
You're the new commanding head of the USGS.
Embrace the power.
Just let me do the talking.
License, registration, proof of insurance,
please, ma'am.
Officer, you see those fires downtown?
That's just the beginning.
Sir, I'm not addressing you.
Marcus, please.
License and registration, please, ma'am.
Yes. Just a moment. It's...
Show him your badge.
Quiet!
Sorry. It... I'm sure it's in here somewhere.
This is ridiculous. Officer, we're in a hurry.
Sir, I'm not addressing you. I'll be with you soon.
Ma'am, license and registration, please.
Just, it's in here somewhere.
I can't...
I'm sure you have a quota and all,
but I highly recommend you let this little fish go.
Sir, this is your last warning.
Isn't that convenient?
Michael T. Booker, United States Geological Survey.
You've just pulled over two genius scientists
whose data can prove we're about to have
the biggest earthquake ever,
and this lovely doctor here is the sole individual
who can convince the governor to evacuate the city.
Hi.
So unless you want to be known
as the cop who let 3.8 million Angelinos die a tragic death,
I suggest you get on your bike and escort us
to the L.A. Emergency Management Center, pronto!
Now, Ponch!
You just stay off your cell phone.
Are you serious?
Will do, officer.
Follow me!
And we're coming up on the Capital Records Tower...
opened in 1956.
Folks, calm down. It's just a tremble.
So she isn't safer out there.
Only if Ritter returns on 5, and he assured me that he wouldn't.
He assured you. The man is a known scumbag.
You should have left that job...
Look, are we going to have this tired argument again?
I feel like you chose this jerk over your own family.
No, you were the one who left me, okay?
I recall giving you several opportunities...
Why, why are you turning?
'Cause I need gas.
There's, there's plenty of gas in the tank.
What we need to do is get to our daughter.
I don't know how long we'll be driving around in this wilderness for.
Nicole must be terrified out there.
But there's no station out there.
I think you're right. Best not to stop.
These localized earthquakes
have yet to be confirmed
by the US Geological Survey at CalTech
which couldn't be reached...
I should have never let him touch my hammer.
They sure don't look shut down.
Yeah, I know. I need a haircut.
Okay. Follow me.
A haircut?
You need to show confidence and grit
if you want these guys to listen to you.
You know what you're doing, so now convince them.
Then re-route the buses.
Come on, people. Use your head.
Where the hell is Booker?
We're getting tremors all through the city
and I'm flying blind here.
He's Booker, sir.
I just sent two uniforms down to CTech.
Why the hell hasn't he called in?
Are either of you even with USGS?
Yes, I am.
Emily Schiffman.
I used to work under Dr. Booker
and this is our colleague, Dr. Gladstone.
Gladstone, the crank?
Dr. Crank, if you must go there, Lieutenant.
You two know each other?
Every other month, I get a warning from the good doctor here.
Bird flu epidemic, deadly pollen virus... what was the last one?
Shark hurricane?
You have no idea how close that came to actually happening.
Now you said "worked."
What did Booker fire you for, being a crackpot, too?
Dr. Booker is dead.
We just came from USGS with this data
that we were planning to show him, Lieutenant.
No, no, no. I want the Red Cross at the Bowl.
Look, I don't give two craps if Neil Diamond is sold out.
Just get it done! What?
You need to evacuate Los Angeles.
Evacuate the entire city?
You're both nutbags.
Lieutenant, everything that's happened...
The sinkholes are modest seismic disturbances,
and there'll be more.
Next...
Next there'll be power surges across the city.
I didn't save!
And all of this is nothing...
Just little problems, small potatoes.
How are they just little problems?
What he's trying to say, sir,
is that the faults underneath the L.A. basin are cracking.
Hey, small words.
Which one was too big for you... fault, basin, the?
The lithosphere, the crust of earth beneath us.
South of the Sierra Madres and west of Pasadena,
it's breaking into little pieces,
and everything on top of it is gonna crumble
and fall into the ocean.
Sir, what do you want to do about the SDFD?
Do I really have to do everything around here?
Put the SDFD on standby.
And how do you suggest we stop it?
You can't control an earthquake.
Not true!
What are you talking about, Marcus?
Epicenter containment.
Where did you get that?
Here's what we're gonna do...
We're gonna blow up the original epicenter
and create one ginormous localized catastrophe.
-Say, what? -It's Emily's dissertation.
It's her theory, it's our plan.
-It's a good plan. -It's a C minus plan.
You're suggesting that we purposely destroy Long Beach.
You'll have a good 7/8s of Los Angeles left.
Is he serious?
You're right, he is a nutbag!
People, it's Long Beach... Who's gonna miss it?
Okay, it looks like we cross a stream
and the ranger station's one mile north.
We should've stayed on the road.
I have no idea...
Do we even know that way's north?
Cindy, is there any service on that phone?
Nope.
Maybe we should just retrace our steps and head back.
Forget that.
The road is about three miles back
and the ranger station's one mile ahead.
It's getting dark.
That's right, and unless you want to end up like Warner,
stop bitching and start moving.
Derrick!
Let's go, people.
Cindy, make sure not to get your phone wet.
It's two feet deep, genius.
I think I can handle it.
Let's go, people!
I'm stuck.
My God! It won't budge.
Relax, it's over.
God! I was kind of scared.
Careful, I don't want to lose my shoe.
My God! Is that another earthquake?
My God! Get me out!
I told you to move faster.
At least someone enjoyed the show.
Careful.
My God!
She's down there?
Nicole!
My God!
That's their car, isn't it?
Please, God. Please let Nicole be okay.
Here, hold this.
What? Be careful!
Please, God, let her be okay, let her be okay.
If the dog has a tag on, maybe we can look call the...
Shut up about the dog!
Teddy, what's going on with the phone?
Can we fix it?
Eyes, focus, man.
Yeah, yeah. It's trashed.
Sorry.
Great.
Guys, I don't know. It's so dark.
I say we head for those caves back there.
Yes.
Wait, wait. What if there's another quake.
I don't want to get stuck in a cave-in.
Those caves look pretty safe.
I mean, that mountain's been there for hundreds of years.
I, I say we stick to the ranger station plan.
-It'll, it'll... -No! Okay, I'm freezing,
And I'd rather not get eaten alive by a wild animal.
If we hoof it now, we can make it back in an hour easy.
No. No.
I'm not going into a dark cave with you, Derrick.
What, are you serious? What is your problem?
Why are you attacking me?
You know exactly what my problem is.
Are you serious? You're the one
leading me on for, like, months.
-Leading you on? -Yeah.
-To that, really? -Guys!
Guys!
Look, I think we just found our salvation.
-That's disgusting. -You're a sicko, dude.
Look, dogs have this sense.
This team of Czechs and Germans
recently discovered that dogs align themselves
with the earth's magnetic fields when they poop.
So, that way is north.
Are you... My God!
You're a sicko.
Nicole, you can join us,
or you can be a stupid bitch and follow the crap compass.
It's your choice.
Follow a piece of dog crap or you...
Hard to see the difference.
Good luck not dying.
Teddy, you have fun with Queen Blueballs.
Let's go, Cindy.
-Cindy! -Derrick's right.
Fine, let's go, Teddy.
Let's go.
Jack, Jack, do you see her?
She's not here.
Hello?
No, he... hold on, hold on one second.
It's Hector!
Tell him I'll call him back.
I lost him.
Wait, I have Paxton's and...
What is this?
Damn you, Ritter!
That's affirmative.
Yes, sir.
I pray so.
Gladstone, Schiffman... The governor is sending everyone
below the 10 South above the 10 North.
You have your evacuation.
Now if there's anything that we can do,
I need you to tell me that right now.
Excuse me for one second. I just have to grab this.
Hello?
We're not going to be able to stop
all of the looting.
-Sir? -National Guard...
Yes. What is it now?
I'm afraid you're going to have to ask everyone
to turn around.
It's too unstable.
We're looking at millions of lawsuits.
Stop being Jack's little lackey.
At this depth, we're gonna strike so much oil,
we can pay off any government agency or whoever.
I'm not worried.
You're the only one in L.A. who isn't.
One more detonation, sir, then we'll turn on the pump.
One hour.
Sir, please don't do this.
Hector, relax, my man, all right?
Grab yourself a glass of champagne
and enjoy the show.
We know the Long Beach station
set off the first set of fissures,
but Ritter's station in the National Forest
looks to be much deeper.
There's a chance we could crack the mantle.
That will set off even more dramatic quakes north of the city.
That's right in the direction
we're sending half the people we're evacuating.
You're focusing on the little problems again.
How is falling into the ocean a little problem?
Falling into a lake of fire it is...
At that depth, we're getting into pyroclastic flow.
Pyro what?
Super-heated gas pushes molten rock to the surface.
Fissures that deep could expel magma
at 450 miles per hour.
Magma? You telling me
L.A. is about to become a goddamn volcano?
Well, I wouldn't phrase it exactly like that, but yes.
Either way, we cannot let that station come online.
I can't believe she took that dork's side.
How stupid can one girl be?
I don't know. How?
What?
I mean, yeah, Nicole's totally stupid.
They both are.
I think my nose is broken.
So, what are you going to do if there's bears in here?
I'm gonna trip you and run.
You better protect me.
We'll see.
Keep it charged.
Carry a spare battery.
Blah, blah, blah.
If my dad had just nagged me a little more.
I, I have a thought.
I read online that you can charge a cell battery
with your body heat.
How's that going to work, Teddy?
We're both freezing.
Well, if we put the battery between us
and then warm each other up, then...
Nice try, perv.
I said warm up, not feel up.
Come on.
It might work.
All right. I can't believe I'm going to do this.
Hands above the equator.
Just, yeah, yeah.
Wiggle a bit.
Wiggle?
Okay.
Sorry. Yeah.
The '89 San Francisco quake was caused by a split
along the San Andreas fault.
Coincidentally, that epicenter was in a state park forest, too.
Right.
That one was caused by the MLB.
Major League Baseball?
Just the Oakland A's versus the Giants.
Battle in the Bay.
No East Coast viewership, worst television ratings ever,
so the commissioner of baseball devised 12...
Just shut up!
I've had just about enough of you running your mouth.
The Bash Brothers... Conseco and McGuire...
Were genetically engineered super soldiers...
Just shut it!
You are playing the quiet game for the rest of the flight.
Here.
Let me check it.
God! I hope this worked.
Come on!
Man.
Yeah. You like to play rough?
Yeah, I do.
Yeah.
What's the dog doing?
My God! Did you feel that?
Yeah!
Listen...
Yeah, yeah.
Come on.
-Derrick... -Yeah.
No, get off.
Yeah, almost.
Derrick, Derrick, get off of me!
No. Not you, too.
Really? There's no way.
Come on!
Wait, look, it's on!
My God, yes.
Nicole!
Nicole, are you out there?
Look, Steph, I know I always blamed you.
I blamed Ritter, I blamed the job,
but it was me.
I'm the one who put our family at risk.
We'll find her.
Our daughter is quite resourceful.
I'm sure we will. I know we will,
but that's not what I'm trying to say.
But I, I always hoped for a big payday,
that that would solve all of our problems...
Jack, we never asked you to.
Listen, I... I take some of the blame.
I mean, I hammered you pretty hard
for not being there for us.
I know that.
It's obvious that you were always putting us first.
You bet your sweet babookie I did.
Do you know a Theodore Toblosky?
Light it up, T.J.
It's magic time.
Look, is that them? It's them!
It's my dad's truck!
Mom, Dad!
Nicole, Nicole. Thank God. Thank God!
Put this on.
Are you all right? Is everything okay?
Okay, kids, let's get in the car.
No, no. We have to go to the station.
Hector said that Ritter was going to turn that thing on
and start another giant earthquake.
I need to get you and the kids to safety, okay?
Well, if he turns it on, are any of us really safe?
We have to go!
Sir, if this is a chance to save L.A., I'm definitely in.
Me, too.
Okay. Get in the car. Let's go!
Come on! Quick.
Yeah, I just talked to him. It's not good.
-Which way? -This way!
Ritter! Ritter!
Turn it off. Don't be an idiot!
All right. USGS. You're under arrest.
Hey, Ritter, turn it off.
Get out of my way.
I know my rights. I did nothing wrong.
We've got to shut down the pumps.
No, no, we have to turn it up all the way.
What?
We use your hydraulic pump
to expand the original fissure point here.
Amplify the initial fault to constrain the epicenter.
It's my theory.
It's a good plan.
I need your help.
If we can centralize the pressure
building up in the crust...
Hold on.
The create a bigger earthquake plan...
Excuse me, miss.
Didn't you just say that idea was nuts?
That was an hour ago. Now it's all we've got...
And it's not "miss." It's Doctor.
I'm sorry. I still don't follow.
The fault lines are radiating,
and the epicenter is losing pressure.
And you want to fracture it more?
Precisely.
We use your pumps at maximum pressure
to localize the venting of this fissure.
That's insane!
This place will become unstable.
The forest will break into a million pieces.
No, I think that's the point, right?
What are you doing?
We need to maximize these pumps.
Turn it off Jack. Don't do it!
Would you just get this guy out of here?
Right now I'm not 100% sure who I should be locking up.
Okay.
I repeat, The City of Los Angeles...
Wait, wait, wait.
Get out of my way!
Mandatory evacuation order.
Coastal areas are under a tsunami warning.
This... this isn't happening.
My God! What have I done?
Are you saying you could stop this earthquake?
No, no, certainly not.
We might be able to move it, though.
Good. Where?
To right beneath our feet.
I see all kinds of gases in the backflow system.
These outflow pipes aren't going to hold.
Well, then, that's good, though.
We want everything down there to fracture.
Let 'rip!
Okay.
You ready?
Damn it!
What is it? What?
It's not building any pressure.
The emergency shutdown valve... If the system got overloaded,
it... it must have engaged.
It definitely got overloaded.
Okay, we have to we have to open the valve manually.
You saw what happened to Paxton and Hicks
when they tried to open that valve.
I'm not going down there again.
We don't have a choice, okay?
Look, we've got at least 10 minutes
before all hell breaks loose... Five minutes minimum.
Come on!
Diosito mio!
Do you think he stopped it?
I have no idea.
Hey, guys.
Who wants to go for a helicopter ride?
Look, I don't know about this.
Maybe I should rethink this whole thing because...
Lieutenant, what's the worst thing that can happen?
We can turn a pristine national forest into a volcano
or is that another little problem?
It is.
We're going to lose the entire city,
so what's a few thousand trees?
It's kind of like whining over a scratched tail light
on a totaled Ferrari.
Go!
I love you.
Jack, isn't there any other way?
I'll be right back.
You bet your sweet babookie you will!
You ready?
I guess.
Wait, wait!
I'm the one who altered the drill
and ignored the warnings.
It's my fault.
His fault. You know, it's funny
because he started all the shifts in the faults.
Never mind.
Let me go instead of Hector.
I'm cool with that.
All right, knock yourself out, hot shot!
Let's go!
Wait!
Come on!
Jack!
Hey!
This doesn't change anything.
You still deserve to die.
It's going to be hot down there.
The release valve's about 20 yards away.
It's on the right here.
Damn! Hot!
This ain't going to be easy.
No, sir.
Damn!
All right. Let's go!
Damn it!
Pressure valve is still on.
Help me turn it again and I'll hold it open.
Look, I wasn't serious about you being dead.
Hey, once I get back in that helicopter,
I'm a dead man anyway.
Let's do this. Come on!
Now get out of here!
You know I don't like to pay you overtime.
Where are they?
They should have opened it by now.
We can't wait much longer.
Wait, just give him a minute. I know he's coming.
There he is!
Dad, look out!
Where's... where's Ritter?
He didn't make it.
Come on, let's get out of here!
Wait, wait, wait. Here, boy!
Come on, come on.
Come on, boy!
Terminating aftershocks are being felt
throughout Los Angeles County.
Wha-what does that mean?
It means it worked... We did it!
I knew it would work!
Pretty miserable day?
Not so bad. I got to second base.
Looks like I'm out of a job.
I'm sure I could find some stuff
for you to do around the house.
Wait!
We've got to stop for cheesecake!