Mercury Rising

Simon is a nine-year-old autistic boy who has cracked the government's new "unbreakable" code. This skill renders the new billion-dollar secret code vulnerable, especially if enemies of the United States should learn of Simon's abilities and capture him. Program chief Nick Kudrow orders the "security threat" eliminated, but Kudrow hasn't counted on renegade FBI agent Art Jeffries (Bruce Willis).



Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who is assigned to protect a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code.
- Written by ShowBob



The NSA has developed what they believe is an unbreakable code which they call MERCURY. Now they ran a test to see if anyone can decipher the code by putting it in a puzzle magazine. Now Simon Lynch, an autistic boy who has an affinity for puzzles sees it and deciphers it and calls the NSA. Concerned the men in charge call their boss Kudrow and inform of what happened. Kudrow worried what might happen if this gets out orders that Simon be terminated. The man he sends kills his parents but is unable to find Simon and leaves when the police arrive. The police call the FBI to send someone to take a report of Simon who is missing and the man they send Art Jeffries is not exactly in good standing with the FBI because of an incident that occurred recently and is also not exactly OK because of the incident. Art finds Simon, who was hiding and takes him to the hospital. While there, the assassin takes another try but Art saves Simon and they go on the run.
- Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com



The United States government is about to launch it's brand new super code. Impossible to break, or so they thought until it was broken by a nine year old autistic boy. Now the bodies are piling up to keep it secret and the mercury is rising.
- Written by Lyle Jordan



Shadowy elements in the NSA target a nine-year old autistic savant for death when he is able to decipher a top secret code.
- Written by duke1029@aol.com




SYNOPSIS

The film opens with a hostage situation in South Dakota where FBI Agent Art Jeffries, who, as the inside man, protects a 15 year old kid named James while trying to talk a bank robber named Edgar Halstrom into surrendering. However, the FBI task force kills the robbers and James. Jeffries confronts his superior, Hartley, who tells him he'd report to Washington. An infuriated Jeffries punches Hartley for that and for James' death.

A cryptographic code called "Mercury" was created by the National Security Agency and allegedly so complex that its creators believe no computer on Earth can decipher it. Originally it was created during the Reagan Administration as a test to keep the United States' highest priority secrets under wraps. One day, the NSA receives a message from a nine-year-old autistic savant named Simon Lynch who calls a telephone number written in the code which was secretly published in a puzzle magazine by two of the creators, Dean Crandell and Leo Pedranski, to see if anyone could break it. Crandell and Pedranski's division chief, Lt. Colonel Nick Kudrow sees the boy's ability to decipher the code as a liability and rather than rectify the problem adequately, instead plans to silence Simon, sending a hit man, Peter Burrell and his partner Shayes to murder the boy and his parents, Martin and Jenny.

After shooting Martin and Jenny, Burrell searches the house, fails to find Simon, and leaves at the sound of approaching sirens (Martin was able to call 911 before dying). Jeffries, who has been demoted following a diagnosis of delusional paranoia, is sent to investigate what is initially thought to be a murder-suicide of Simon's parents. While investigating the scene, Jeffries finds Simon hiding in a cache of his bedroom closet and takes the boy under his wing. Jeffries begins to realize the difficulty of protecting, let alone questioning Simon, because of his impaired social abilities as a result of his autism, but the Chicago PD agree to assign a protection detail to Simon. Burrell tries to kill Simon again at the hospital, but Jeffries stops him. He is then forced to terminate an assassin named Shayes on the Chicago 'L' train. The situation is further complicated by the fact that nobody at the FBI believes Simon is in any danger, and Jeffries is soon framed by the NSA as a kidnapper, with only his best friend and fellow agent Tommy Jordan aware that he did not commit the crime, since Jordan had been in contact with Jeffries when the incident began. Despite his initial doubts, Jordan allows Jeffries to borrow his car but warns him that he'll have to report it stolen the following morning to avoid being implicated in this situation. Jeffries takes Simon to his house where his parents were murdered the previous morning. Simon again calls the telephone number written in the code, and, after realizing that Simon is talking to Crandell and Pendranski, arrangements are made for a meeting at the Wrigley Building. The next morning, he meets a woman named Stacey Siebring in a coffee shop and asks her to watch Simon for him while he goes to meet Crandell.

Jeffries meets Crandell and they talk as they walk on a busy sidewalk. As Crandell tells Jeffries about the code and Kudrow, Burrell shoots him from behind and escapes from Jeffries following a chase. After the shooting and getting Burrell's photo from a traffic camera, Jeffries goes back to the coffee shop, but Simon and Stacey are gone. He goes outside and spots them coming across the street. Stacey says she and Simon have become friends and Simon agrees. Jeffires and Simon then abruptly leave Stacey. Jeffries then meets with Jordan who delivers the information about Burrell's background as a Special Forces agent. While Jordan is now fully convinced this conspiracy is real, Jeffries doesn't want to involve him in this any further than he should. Later in the middle of the night, Jeffries and Simon go to Stacey's place, asking for a place to stay. Stacey reluctantly agrees and tells Jeffries that she was going on a business trip to Des Moines to make the rent the next morning.

Meanwhile, Pedranski turns to Jeffries for help, but shortly after he is murdered too by Burrell. However, he has managed to leave a letter detailing Kudrow's crimes, which his girlfriend, NSA analyst Emily Lang takes to the FBI and Jordan discreetly arranges for her to meet with Jeffries to show them both the carbon paper used to type the letter, which, being covered in Pedranski's fingerprints is crucial evidence in its own right. After the meeting with Emily, Jeffries tells Stacey to call anybody for an emergency except the police, who were called off at the last minute during the hospital incident, and he gives her Jordan's number to contact if there was an emergency. While Jeffries introduces himself to Kudrow at his birthday party and demands that Kudrow leave Simon alone, Jordan under Jeffries' suggestion arranges for Simon to go into Witness Protection. After the meeting, Jeffries contacts his friend and Jordan explains how the Witness Protection meeting is going to happen, though they are unaware that their conversation over the phone is being monitored by Kudrow. When Jeffries returns and finds Stacey and Simon gone, he learns from Jordan that they are fine and will meet them there, just as Jordan is given an order to head to the FBI director's office.

Kudrow tries to have FBI SAC (Special Agent in Charge) Joe Lomax help him stop Jeffries by using his authority and the fact that Jordan arranged the Witness Protection under false pretenses. He plans to have the NSA take over the protection for the meeting spot. After Kudrow leaves, Jordan shows the evidence to Lomax and despite his initial doubts, Jordan confirms that the fingerprint markings on it were Pedranski's, now fully validating the evidence against Kudrow. Jeffries, with Jordan and a small FBI task force's help, set a trap at the meeting spot. Stacey arrives at the meeting spot and gives Simon to Kudrow and Burrell who are posing as US Marshals.

Once Lomax who is in the building's security room gives the green light, Jordan and the FBI team move in and Kudrow orders Burrell to stall them. Jordan protects Stacey from the gunfire, while the FBI team take on Burrell, who gets killed when windows blow out and shards end up in his face. Meanwhile after taking Simon to the helicopter Jeffries appears from the helicopter and fights Kudrow on the roof. Simon gives the FBI agent Kudrow's own gun, allowing him to take control as Jordan and the team come in. In a last-ditched effort to get Simon back, Kudrow grabs the screaming boy and is shot by Jeffries, then falls to his death, but not before Jeffries grabs Simon out of his arms.

The film ends with Jeffries visiting Simon, now living with foster parents, at his school, who embraces Jeffries as a welcome friend, having finally accepted him as a person of his trust.