Macabre Gambit

INTRO

[EST. SHOT OF BEKZ WRITING A LETTER, BEHIND HER IS A WALL SIZED MAP OF THE WORLD WITH PICTURES, POSTIT NOTES, AND RED STRING ALL POINTING TO SOME PLACE IN THE MIDWEST OF THE UNITED STATES]

[DESK HAS A DRAWING TABLET AND INK PENS SHOWING SHE'S AN ARTIST]

"<//BEGIN TRANSCRIPTION//:
> Mi cadino,
> Just wanted to check in. See where your head's at.

[THOUGHT BUBBLE] I know I should be telling him about the rumors. He's been deployed on his second tour for seven months now. He should know what's going on over there.

> Just put dad next to mom.

[CLOSE UP OF BEKZ SETTING A BLACK URN BOX NEXT TO A SIMILAR LOOKING ONE WITH A PICTURE FRAME OF A NEWSPAPER CLIPPING READING 'MISSING' THE PICTURE OF TWO GIRLS, ONE IN A BEANIE AND SHORT HAIR AND THE OTHER CHOLA]

> You remember what happened to her, right? The illness was so sudden and fast. They fought so hard but doc said there was nothing they could do. The virus is still in its infancy, and they haven't done enough egghead crap to understand how to stop it from killing people. People are just dying too fast for them to study the viral lifecycle and docs who get too close end up biting their patients.

[THOUGHT BUBBLE] I'm just glad Daniel was state's side when the first epidemic of the virus surfaced across East India in the summer of 2030. Patient Zero was never "officially" identified but I know the virus was brewed right here in the US of A. Everyone speculates it came from one of the Asian countries but those people died during the 2032 pandemic when the virus jumped international borders. After that the world went on lockdown and entered a mandatory quarantine for six months.

> Keep your head down and your rifle loaded. Don't want to distract you.
> Hang tough,
>-Bekz"

[SEALS UP THE ENVELOPE AND PLACES AN AMERICAN FLAG STAMP ON THE CORNER, STUFFING HER SKETCHBOOK INTO HER PACK]

[TV IN THE BACKGROUND] "United Kingdom has declared martial law ... All non essential personal..."

[STATIC]

[BEKZ LOCKS THE DOOR ON THE WAY OUT]

[BEKZ LEAVES THE APARTMENT BUILDING AND PUTS THE SEALED ENVELOPE INTO THE MAIL DROPBOX]

[STEVEN, the building receptionist] Evening, Bekz.

[BEKZ] Sup, Steven.

[EXITS THE BUILDING AND HEADS TO WORK IN HER LIFTED 1980 TOYOTA DOOMSDAY VEHICLE, NO-FLAT NOBBY TIRES, WENCH IN THE FRONT, BUMPER BARS FRONT AND BACK, KC LIGHTS ACCROSS THE TOP, ROLL CAGE IN THE CABIN, STICK, THE BACK RACK HAS COMPACT SURVIVAL ITEMS]

[THE SUN IS SETTING AS BEKZ PULLS INTO THE PARKING LOT, LOCATION IS 'BLACK SAILS TATTOO' A TATOO PARLOR NEXT TO AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET AND A SMOKE SHOP, JUST BARELY SHOWS THE GAS GUAGE AS A LINE BELOW HALF]

[THOUGHT BUBBLE] I'll fill her up after my session with this human canvas.

[FOCUS ON OBJECT HANGING FROM REVIEW MIRROR, LANYARD WITH AN ENERGY SWORD KEYCHAIN, AN AK-KNIFE, AND AN ID BADGE WITH DANIEL IN UNIFORM FLEXING WITH BEKZ]

[WALKS INTO A HALOWEEN DECORATED PARLOR, SECURITY PANELS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DOOR AUTO READS BEKZ TEMPERATURE AND THE LIGHTS FLASH GREEN BEFORE RETURNING TO NEUTRAL BLUE]

[THE PARKOR LOOKS LIKE EVERY DAY IS HALOWEEN IN THERE, A LCD SIGN ON THE DESK READS:

"365 days without RABV30 Positive
Oct. 31st, 2033"]

[LADY WITH PINK CHEETA PRINT TANK-TOP AT THE FRONT DESK FILING HER NAILS, WITH TWO RUSTIC TAN COLORED LEATHER SEATS IN FRONT OF THE DESK, BRIEFLY ACKNOWLEDGES BEKZ AS SHE WALKS BY] Evening, Bekz.