INT. LIN'S APARTMENT – DAY
Lin walks in the door.
On the back of it hangs a Guy Fawkes Anonymous mask. On the walls are other hacker groups' logos, alongside computer and gaming paraphernalia and symbols.
The living room looks like the fraternity edition of the DoD's operation room: lots of desks, computers, and two guys.
Wide-open doors in all directions reveal a girl in front of a screen in another room, and a guy is coming from yet another.
LIN: Hi, guys!
GUY #1: We're live in ten minutes!
EVERYONE: Hi, Lin!
LIN: Hi, Liz!
LIZ: Hey, girl! Anything exciting happen to you lately?
LIN: Not as fun as being with you guys.
A PROJECTOR lights up the room, turns a wall into a giant screen, mirroring one of the computers.
THE IMAGE is split in two; one half shows a Cyrillic website for ordering train tickets in Moscow, the other half an automated English translation of the same.
The door swings open, and the guy from IT support who thought Cathy was "sooo hot" enters. His name is GEORGE.
GEORGE: Hi, guys!
EVERYONE: Heeey!
George hurries to a computer and sits down next to the guys.
GUY #1: Other cells are going online!
GEORGE (powers up his computer): Guys, you would never know what happened today. I met the hottest girl ever. With the weirdest phone!
LIN: Yeah, that happened. She was pretty clueless.
GEORGE: But sooo hot! And her phone was sooo weird! Took Lin's boyfriend forever to help her out.
Lin looks at George. Words sinking in...
She goes to her room, closes the door behind her.
LIN'S ROOM – CONTINUOUS
She switches on the lights. A computer screen on her desk lights up simultaneously.
She walks over and unlocks a desktop computer with her fingerprint, sending images to the screen.
IT'S A SPLIT SCREEN. Half is covered in a programming language; the other half shows live CCTV of the entrance arena of a student building. Guys walking in and out, and green rectangles following everyone on the screen like an AI is tracking them. (Because it is.)
In the top corner of the screen: "HILLSIDE RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX, EAST ENTRANCE B2." Underneath it: "JOEL: NOT PRESENT."
There's a knock at the door.
LIN: Yes!
The door swings open, and George peeks inside.
GEORGE: We're live in five minutes.
OTHER GUY (O.S., IN THE BACKGROUND): The Russians won't know what hit them before it's too late.
The others chime in in eager support (ad-lib).
LIN: OK, thanks.
She tries to get hold of Joel on chat, but no reply.
LIN: Ah, c'mon! Answer me!
GEORGE: Relax. He's probably just banging that hot Latina babe.
LIN: Screw you!
The guys in the living room snicker loudly.
ANOTHER GUY (IN THE BACKGROUND): I know what I'd be doing, for sure.
More laughter from the boys.
LIZ (FROM HER ROOM): Fuck you guys!
LIN: First of all, Joel is not an asshole like the rest of you guys, and second, he is Catholic; he isn't banging anyone at all.
The guys chuckle.
GEORGE: Whatever you say, Lin.
OTHER GUY: OK, other teams are ready!
Lin looks at her screen — still no response from Joel.
His status changes from online and unresponsive to "OFFLINE."
She gets up, grabs her bag, walks back into the living room.
LIN: I'm going out for a bit.
All the guys look at her with big eyes. Confused.
GUY #1: Wha...?
GEORGE: We were just messing –
LIN: You got more than two hundred cells online; site will go down like a burning meteor. I'll bring my mobile setup if there's anything. Have fun. Bye, Liz.
She slips out the door, leaving the crew behind, pondering.
YOU ARE READING
Love/Survival
RomanceOn paper, 20-year-old twins Cathy and Matt have everything going for them. Their mom is a Brazilian supermodel, and their dad is a decorated Navy SEAL. In reality, though, Mark, their dad, is retired with PTSD, and their mom, Sabrina, split long ago...
