INT.
APARTMENT BLOCK CORRIDOR-DAY
The
door opens to a very modern, expensive flat. Right at the back of the
living room there is a table, every inch of it covered with identical
laptop cases. On top of this lies a CD-R disc and a pocket- sized
plastic box.
Tom
puts the CD in a Hi-Fi at the back of the room. In the small
transparent plastic box, pocket-sized cards read:
Tom
Aaronson
BSc
Hons
555
0783745873
A
distinct voice comes out of the speakers:
DEVANT
So
far so good. The packages are for premier customers of local
businesses and authorities. It is vital that these are left in safe
hands. Meet the managers. Meet the staff. Familiarise yourself with
the locations. There may be more work to do with these places later.
TOM’S
MONTAGE OVER DEVANT’S MONOLOGUE
He's
in the barber’s, having a number one haircut.
Getting
fitted for a grey suit.
Trying
designer eau de toilette in a perfume shop.
As
a girl checks him out on the street, we notice he’s looking much
happier and more confident than he did at the recruitment fair.
CUT
BACK TO THE ROOM WITH THE HI-FI
TOM
(to himself, mostly)
What
kind of work?
DEVANT
(on tape, cont.)
Once
this initial task is complete I will be contacting you. Thank you.
Please destroy this CD. And remember- do not open the cases yourself.
CD
ends.
TOM
(to himself)
Why?
EXT.
CITY CENTRE-DAY
Tom,
wearing the grey suit hands out the laptop cases with pride. He can
see other people in suits doing possibly similar things to him for a
living.
Tom
shakes the hand of a bank manager and swaps business cards.
With
each segment, Tom enters screen left and exits screen right. As Tom
walks from one business to another he notices smoke billowing from
some other part of the city.
A
fire engine races past him, sirens screaming. Tom thinks nothing of
it. That’s life in the city.
TOM
(V/O)
I’ve
caught you all up, you bastards. I’m part of the executive elite.
Plus I don’t have to sit in some boxy little office talking
bollocks and filling in forms all day. I’m a grown adult, making a
living. And I don’t pay rent!
LATER
INT.
APARTMENT-DAY
Dave
and Tony are watching a news channel.
TOM
That’s
it? There must be more to it than this. I’m waiting for the catch.
I mean, come on. Fourteen grand for a day’s work?
DAVE
Fourteen
grand? Shit, I didn’t know you were getting that much.
TOM
(Confused)
So
how do you know so much about what I’m doing? And how do you know
Devant?
DAVE
We
were still at uni when Devant got us into Bar Code. At first I
thought: bar work- shit pay, shit hours. Then he gave us an extra job
on the side. Check this out.
Tony
gets up and opens the door to a cupboard. Stacks of VCRs are rolling,
timers ticking, DVD recorders transferring, recording a video.
There's a small screen showing what's being copied. It’s a bit
vague, but someone is either in a lot of pain or they’re very good
at acting tortured. The cupboard is also stuffed with blank DVDs. Tom
looks away. He’s never seen any snuff before and it has shocked
him, but he acts like it’s nothing. Dave walks over.
DAVE
Most
of what we do is kid’s movies. Movies for kids, I mean. Animated
shit. Single mothers never turn down cut-price entertainment for
their little'uns.
Dave
indicates the DVD being copied.
DAVE
(cont)
This
stuff is another string on the bow obviously. It’s a bit extreme,
but no one else sells in Manchester. If we find out they do, I phone
Devant. And they don’t any more. This is why we dropped out of uni.
Tom
thinks: What a big-headed cock.
TONY
(no sarcasm)
So
he’s given you Manchester to look after then?
TOM
That’s
the way I look at it. Whatever it is.
Tom
smiles.
Dissolve
to:
INT.
APARTMENT BEDROOM- NIGHT
Tom’s
on the computer. One of the desktop items says DVD BURNER. He has his
bank statement and the receipt from Devant’s cheque by his side.
We
can hear Dave and Tony snorting something off the coffee table and
laughing loudly.
TOM
(V/O)
I’m
back at uni again. Can’t sleep. Too much noise. Too much to figure
out.
Tom
searches the net for news articles.
'Critics
suggest £1 million hole in chancellor’s budget'
'Piracy
links to terrorism investigated'
'Plight
of today’s unemployed graduates: how do we stop the cycle?'
Tom
clicks the last article link. The article reads:
Today’s
graduates are among the laziest and most under-trained in Europe,
Tory critics claim. The number of graduates out of work has trebled
in the last three years. The Prime Minister responded by saying that
new schemes and initiatives would soon be put in place to cut
unemployment rates.
FLASHBACK
Tom
going into Job Centre, handing over the package.
He's
still confused.
DAVE
Thought
you’d figure it out.
Tom
jolts; turns around. Dave leans in the doorway.
TOM
I
haven’t mate. Seriously, what am I doing here?
DAVE
You
met Devant at that job fair, right?
Tom
nods.
DAVE
Was
your uni course hard?
TOM
It
wasn’t molecular physics, in all honesty.
DAVE
Devant’s
trying to prove students can:
Dave
counts on fingers:
DAVE
(cont)
Handle
lots of money, be versatile and work with different companies, think
on their feet… All that shit. He wanted you to figure all that out
for yourself.
TOM
Well
I’ve not had to do much of that, have I?
DAVE
You
will tomorrow, mate, you’ve not met Yanyan.
TOM
Who’s
Yanyan?
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