Callum
smiles at Devant, sinister, proud of his latest killing.
Devant
pulls out a silenced Glock 17 and shoots Callum in the hand. He’s a
good shot.
Callum
SREAMS.
Tom
is frozen stiff with fear, convinced he’s going to die.
Balaclava
2 takes 2 tea towels twists one and offers it to Balaclava 1,who’s
trying to shut out the pain. As he bites down, his Balaclava twists
out of shape.
DEVANT
I
expect you’ll want an explanation, Tom.
Devant
pulls out a DVD from his overcoat. He takes it out of the case and
puts it in the drive.
Balaclava
2 yanks the knife out quickly. Blood spurts all over him. Balaclava 1
SCREAMS. Balaclava 2 takes the other tea towel and ties it tight
around the wound.
The
DVD shows CCTV footage from a police station. Callum is sat in a room
talking to a technician on computer. The techie is making a photo fit
image. As Callum talks, the face changes shape, the hair shortens,
and the image starts to look like Tom. The technician applies a
darker skin-tone. Now it really resembles our narrator. After a few
adjustments to the hairline and jaw line, it’s practically Tom’s
image on screen. It becomes, we realise, Tom’s photo fit image from
the news report.
DEVANT
I
didn’t spend all this time and money solving this country’s
problems just to have everything ruined by an unstable
sixteen-year-old with a vendetta. With regards to the censor's
office, what’s done is done Tom. And I can clear it up. I won’t
have to clear your name because they will never find you- unless, of
course, Callum walks out of this room.
Callum
is sobbing uncontrollably.
DEVANT
You’ll
never have to kill again. You’ll never have to worry about money.
FLASHBACKS
The
Job Centre exploding.
The
burned-out car.
Firing
at the police and security, chasing him outside the sensor’s
office.
The
clip from Apocalypse Now.
MARLON
BRANDO’S VOICE
The
strength to do that…
Tom
takes the gun from Devant. Devant nods to the other men. They leave.
Tom
looks Callum in the eye and shoots him in the head. A look of
determination changes instantly to apathy.
DEVANT
Good
choice, Tom. The worst is over. You did as you were told. But Callum…
he had issues. He liked his films too much. The two psychologists
that I’d sent him to had no idea how unstable he was. They knew he
had... a condition. He’d had a hard day. His work colleagues were
making his life difficult, he felt under pressure from breaking the
law and the secrets he kept. Then he found out that his legitimate
job in fast food and his work colleagues didn’t exist any more. And
all he wanted was to go home, watch a film and forget about the
world. But the film was edited for violence. Because of his
condition, that is one thing Callum could not tolerate. So he went
behind my back, found out as much information about the censors as he
could, then made a plan to kill them all. The people he killed only
edit current news, so the people who edited his film weren't even
targeted. They're in London. The people he killed were helping the
campaign's PR. He's caused me a lot of problems. But anyway, he
needed a getaway driver and a scapegoat. So he stumbled across you…
It didn’t really go to plan for him. But now all of this is over,
you probably want to ask the same question that anyone drowning in
self pity would ask. 'Why me?'
He
points to the TV.
CCTV
footage flickers to life.
Tom,
in his student days, is on the street at night. He has a girl on his
arm.
We’ve
seen this event in the opening scene, but not from this angle. A tall
man argues with Tom. The girl steps into the argument. BAM! Tall man
punches the girl in the face, hard. Her head flies back.
Tom
SNAPS. He punches the man three times, throws a knee in that drops
him, then Tom kicks him twice in the stomach and once in the face.
The
video cuts.
The
video now shows Tom working in the computer office. We saw some of
this in the opening scene too, but it’s a continuation of this. At
the edge of the shop floor, the manager’s office door flies open.
Tom marches out, angered. Tom turns and shouts back into the office.
We can lip read 'Fuck you!' Tom walks out. A nicely aligned,
2-metre-high stack of printer paper has been constructed on the shop
floor. Tom pushes it all over. Customers jolt. The manager emerges, a
little cautious, and glances to the camera.
TOM
You
found all this out overnight?
DEVANT
No.
We were watching you, Tom. We’ve been watching since you enrolled
at university. Then we sent you the letter and hoped you’d turn up
at the recruitment fair. It has taken me until now to get this
campaign organised. Besides, how else would you get away with what
you did? You broke that man’s eye socket and two of his ribs.
Tom
gets the shivers. Devant knows so much about him.
DEVANT
We
knew you were perfect for the role. You’re intelligent and hard
working, like a lot of graduates, but you are also resilient and
strong-willed. We knew you wouldn’t fold under the pressure.
TOM
(Sarky)
Not
even when you put my photo fit image on national television! Have I
made you proud?
Devant
leans on the doorway. He relaxes his business persona.
DEVANT
Tom…
Getting a terrorist campaign passed through parliament would never
have been the easiest thing to do. So we didn’t even try to pass
it. The government have been very… particular about terrorism since
Guy Fawkes got caught. Not many MPs know that I orchestrated the
events in Manchester yesterday. Some of the few that do didn’t
agree with it. They wanted the campaign stopped. They must have a
problem with developing public health and well-being-
Tom
cuts him off.
TOM
Right,
first off- that is bollocks. And it’s not about testing graduates
abilities either. Tell me the truth or I will do nothing for you.
DEVANT
It’s
all of those and more, Tom. There are people stopping this country
developing, very influential businessmen- people in power who could
very easily persuade members of parliament not to follow the Prime
Minister’s plans. These people are afraid of change, even though
everyone agrees- change is all that is needed. I needed help with
this, so I looked for a graduate. Someone who was looking for a
challenge: a life-changing opportunity, who wanted it so bad they’d
approach a stranger at an unmarked stall at a recruitment event full
of adverts. I wanted someone proactive. The only encouragement I gave
you was was posting you a leaflet. I knew you had a history of
violence…
TOM’S
FACE suggests, 'Oh, come on…'
DEVANT
(Cont)
And
I figured you could handle it. Other people, other graduates, and my
colleagues, they couldn't.
TOM
(realising)
That's
why that guy tried to stab me!
DEVANT
(genuinely concerned)
Someone
tried to stab you?
TOM
In
the middle of the street, Devant, he came right at me. I killed him
too.
DEVANT
Was
he- was he in all black, with sunglasses?
TOM
Yes.
Yes, he was.
DEVANT
Where?
TOM
The
back alley by Boots.
DEVANT
I
will have it cleaned up. Tom, I have put you through a lot in the
last few days. I planned a lot of it, but I didn't plan that and I
apologise. Do you understand how close we came to losing? He must
have been the last one. The rest are dead. I've had confirmation.
Devant
nods to the screen. The images now show Tom, more recently, suited
and booted, walking into the Job Centre, about to hand over the
package.
Tom
in the GUM clinic, package in hand.
And
from a distance, Tom walking into McD’s.
Certifiable
damning evidence of his guilt. It looks like Tom was walking into
each place with full knowledge of what he was going to do. It looks
like he was brainwashed from the start. His enthusiasm for the job
looks like his enthusiasm for terrorism.
DEVANT
Your
face was used because the other MP’s wanted the campaign stopped.
You were the scapegoat. (Pause) Thankfully, as the government has at
least some control over illegal immigration, we have a plentiful
supply of scapegoats of our own. It wasn’t difficult for our
contacts to pin it on someone who looks like you. Round about now the
police will be killing an unknown foreigner who they will later
accuse of the attacks. Now. You have a choice: go to the police – I
don’t think you want to know what would happen if you did, but I’m
advising you against it- or stay on the payroll. There’ll be more
control, more power, more money.
TOM
What
am I doing?
DEVANT
(off the cuff)
You’ll
have absolute control of all piracy in Manchester. All you have to do
is find a legitimate cover job. Part time.
TOM
Not
really a choice, is it…
FADE
OUT
FADE
UP
INT.COMMUNITY
CENTRE-DAY
The
building is housing a career guidance centre of sorts: like the Job
Centre, but everybody in there is being designated a job. An
employment officer is talking to a reluctant young man in a
tracksuit.
EMPLOYMENT
OFFICER
What
are you going to do? You either turn up at 9am, or I hand you over to
custody.
RELUCTANT
YOUNG MAN
It's
only 22 hours.
EMPLOYMENT
OFFICER
There
are other people who need this work too. You're job sharing.
It’s
much more efficient. Employers stand in a group, looking for
candidates. They don’t have stalls like in the recruitment fair. A
sign on the wall states:
EMPLOYMENT
GUARANTEED!
TOM
(V.O)
Looks
like I’m back in admin again. The cycle repeats itself… I’d be
quite happy to update customer details for the rest of my fucking
life, just as long as I’m not opening the post for everyone. You
don't know what might be inside those packages. My CV’s not
improved in months, but I’m not signing on- none of us are- and I
know whatever job I get into I’m not going to be in it long.
Because Devant needs me. The government needs me. What I’m about to
take over is going to cause a lot of misery for a lot of people. But
it’s not my misery. I’ve got a piracy network all to myself, not
to mention a luxury city centre apartment. I know that I can take
this. I can handle whatever card I’m dealt, no matter how much
ammonium nitrate it’s been dipped in. There is nothing that can
hurt me now.
ZOOM
OUT
Tom
is just another jobseeker in a room full of jobseekers, joining a
queue.
FADE
OUT
END
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