NO STRING ATTACHED - JENLISA

Close Enough To Burn

Season 1
EPISODE 7: "CLOSE ENOUGH TO BURN"

INT. BRIEFING ROOM – EARLY MORNING

Dim lights. Holographic map glowing in the center. The squad gathers around as a senior officer points out a red-blinking zone on the outer rim.

COMMANDER RYU
Intel shows suspicious activity at Outpost 9. We need eyes. No noise. Just in and out.
Captain Manoban. Doctor Kim. You're the best pair for this.

Murmurs ripple through the team.

Lisa glances at Jennie — unreadable. Jennie barely acknowledges the assignment.

LISA
Copy that, sir.

JENNIE
Understood.

COMMANDER RYU (dry)
Try not to kill each other.

⸻
INT. SHUTTLE – EN ROUTE TO OUTPOST 9

The shuttle rattles slightly as it cuts through cloud cover. Only the hum of engines and tension fill the silence.

Lisa sits by the window, jaw tight. Jennie across from her, arms folded, head leaning back, eyes closed — pretending to rest.

LISA (quiet)
You could at least pretend we're on the same side.

JENNIE (eyes still closed)
We are. That doesn't mean I have to talk to you.

LISA (smirks)
You know silence doesn't work on me. I've slept with people who talk less.

Jennie opens one eye, coolly unimpressed.

JENNIE
And I've saved lives more interesting than you.

Their banter bites like barbed wire — practiced and painful.

PILOT (over comm)
Landing in five. Suit up.

⸻
EXT. OUTPOST 9 – NIGHT

Dark terrain. Deserted. Quiet except for wind whipping against crumbling walls.

Lisa takes point, rifle steady. Jennie follows, med kit on her back, scanning with quiet precision.

They breach the perimeter in tandem — fluid, familiar, sharp.

LISA (softly)
Still got my six?

JENNIE
Always. Doesn't mean I like it.

LISA
Didn't ask you to.

The bitterness simmers beneath the professionalism. They work like a well-oiled machine — even when emotionally rusted.

⸻
INT. OUTPOST CONTROL ROOM – MINUTES LATER

They clear the room. Lisa flicks her light toward the command terminal.

LISA
Looks like someone tried to wipe this. But not clean enough.

She plugs in a drive. Data starts decrypting.

JENNIE
We need to be quick. We're exposed here.

Lisa doesn't look at her. But her voice drops.

LISA
You're not sleeping well.
Jennie pauses.

JENNIE
That's not your business anymore.

LISA
It never stopped me from caring.

The data pings complete. Lisa pulls the drive. They move — fast.

⸻
EXT. OUTPOST PERIMETER – LATER

A soft rumble.

JENNIE (alarmed)
Lisa—trip sensor. We've got incoming.

They sprint through debris. A flash in the distance.