INT. DOOMSDAY BUNKER – AFTERNOON
It's rigged like a great hall. Lots of chairs, almost like a classroom in one end. A bar in another. American flags. Country music in the background.
Mark is standing in front of a half circle comprised of his course participants.
MARK: ... well deserved. Congrats! (raises his bottle of beer for a toast) To the future!
Everyone responds with their beers raised high.
EVERYONE: To the future!
INT. DESERT HOME – AFTERNOON
Cathy and Joel hang their jackets at the entrance.
CATHY: You sure you're OK?
JOEL (seems shaken): Yeah, sure, I'm good.
CATHY: You're still shaking...
JOEL: It's just the adrenaline. It'll pass. Just not used to being shot at...
CATHY: Hear me, I'm really sorry. He's probably trying to test me. Or you. Or my brother.
She walks into the living room, and Joel follows. Huge glass windows give a stunning panorama of a desert canyon. It's almost as if the house was perched on the very edge of it. (Because it is.)
JOEL: Wow...! (beat) He seems to view "testing" a bit differently than my dad did...
CATHY: Yeah, I know... (beat) He's ex-Navy SEAL.
JOEL: Oh...! Right. Good to know...
CATHY: Don't worry, he won't be here until a few hours. He's got a course he's running and the canyons are a maze to drive through anyway, so...
JOEL: Good again...
CATHY: The computer is over there. (points to a corner of the living room) Go fire it up; I just gotta change.
JOEL: Sure...
CATHY
walks into her room, pulling off her exercise top RIGHT BEFORE she disappears behind the half-open door.
JOEL
quickly turns his eyes from Cathy to the computer.
THE SCREEN
comes to life with a start-up image requesting a password.
JOEL
looks toward Cathy's room.
JOEL'S POV
Her leggings land on the bed, thrown from somewhere behind that half-open door.
CATHY (O.S.): The password is capital X, 28, hashtag, x, x, y, question mark, exclamation mark, 314, hyphen, ALPHA with capital letters, b, zero, c, 2.
JOEL
tries to get fantasies of a half-dressed Cathy off his mind...
JOEL: Uh... you say that again?
CATHY (O.S.): Are you not listening? Capital X, 28, hashtag, x, x, y, question mark, exclamation mark, 314, hyphen, ALPHA with capital letters, b, zero, c, 2.
He nervously types the password. The screen changes. He's in.
THE COMPUTER SCREEN – DESKTOP BACKGROUND
A gorgeous woman in a swimsuit, probably in her 40s but hotter than most women in their 20s, lies on the beach, smiling innocently toward the camera.
JOEL
shifts in his seat.
JOEL: Uh...?
CATHY (O.S.): Mom.
Joel turns and sees Cathy walking toward him – tight tank top and loose cargo pants. Indeed, looking like Lara Croft. Darn!
JOEL: Uh, what?
CATHY: The beauty on the beach. My mom.
JOEL: Oh, right, I didn't really notice –
CATHY: I can't believe Dad still got that. She's a Brazilian model. He's still hoping she will come back someday.
JOEL: Right, right... So, about this computer...
Cathy pulls up a chair and curls up next to Joel.
CATHY: Yeah. Dad told me to find a folder called ECHO FOUR. Problem is the machine is so slow he doesn't get anything done.
JOEL (grins confidently): That I can fix.
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...
