Gunfire Lullaby #1: Six Bullet Russian Roulette Page 1 Panel 1 The panel is a full page panel. The entire page is black. There is a caption in the lower right corner: Caption Box: SO…THIS IS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE DEAD, HUH? Page 2 Panel 1 The panel is a medium close-up of JOHN SLAY sitting in bed. He's been shocked awake. John is in his late 30's, athletic build, clean-shaven, with messy brown hair and brown, sunken eyes. His arms are rigid; his eyes are wide and afraid. John Slay: GASP GASP KAFF Panel 2 The panel shows a doctor and a nurse from John's POV. They are all in a sterile hospital room. The light source is from pale white fluorescent lights from directly overhead. The DOCTOR, (a middle-aged balding man with glasses, wearing the usual medical togs), is holding a metal clipboard, and looking pleased with himself, as any doctor will when finding a patient is not dead. The nurse at his side is young, blonde, and cute. She stands with her hands behind her back, but hips tilted toward John. She should exude an attraction to John. Doctor: SLAY? JOHN SLAY? Doctor: WELCOME BACK TO THE LAND OF THE LIVING. WE WERE AFRAID YOU WOULDN'T MAKE IT OUT OF THE DOWNLOAD STAGE. John: WHERE THE HELL AM I? Page 3 Panel 1 This panel is from John's POV again. We're looking at the doctor, his arms outstretched. There is a soft flickering of blue light of the banks of monitors behind him. The glare from his glasses makes him look soulless. The huge smile on his face adds to that look. Doctor: WELCOME TO COMMAND CENTRAL! Panel 2 In the panel, we can see the silhouette of the doctor's left hand against the light coming off of the banks of computers in the background on the left. Countless technicians in white coats are manning banks of computer consoles with their backs to us. John: COMMAND WHU--? WAIT… SFX: BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Panel 3 This panel is a medium wide shot of John is sitting up in the bed, holding his face in his hands. He's bathed in the blue glow of the room. John: OH GOD, I MADE IT. I REALLY MADE IT HERE. Page 4 Panel 1 In the panel we see John and the doctor walking down a hallway from the left side of the page. John is slightly hunched over. He's wearing a lab coat, black pants and no shoes. Doctor: SO, JOHN, TELL ME WHAT THE DOWNLOAD PROCESS IS LIKE. SO MANY PATIENTS DON'T SURVIVE... Panel 2 The panel is a close up of John in the foreground and the doctor in the background. The doctor is looking intently at John; the glare from his glasses still isn't revealing his eyes. John is looking blankly forward. The light source is from soft white fluorescent lights mounted on the wall behind them. John: WHEN THEY ADMINISTER THE DRUGS, YOU CAN FEEL YOURSELF START TO GO UNDER. IT'S LIKE AN OUT-OF-BODY EXPERIENCE. John: THEN, JUST AS YOU GET USED TO THE SILENCE AND BEING NUMB, THOUSANDS OF HOT NEEDLES STAB THEMSELVES INTO YOUR BRAIN AND BEHIND YOUR EYES. IT WAS A LOT LIKE MY FIRST MARRIAGE. John: THEN, YOU WAKE UP NAKED, TO A %$*@# DOCTOR ASKING YOU WHAT GOING UNDER FELT LIKE. Panel 3 The panel is the same shot as the Panel 1 except the pair is more to the middle of the page. Doctor: HUH. Panel 4 The panel is the same as Panel 1 except that the pair has made it to the right of the panel. John: YOU GOT A CIGARETTE, DOC? Doctor: NOPE, SORRY. I DON'T SMOKE. John: FIGURES. Page 5 Panel 1 Cut to the interior of a poorly lit hallway. There's a lone light bulb hanging from the ceiling by entwined but fraying wires. There is a door at the end with stenciled letters on pebbled glass. The lettering can't be read clearly. NO DIALOGUE Panel 2 The same hallway but now there's a figure's shadow stretched across it to the left. NO DIALOGUE Panel 3 In the panel, we've moved further down the hallway, towards the door and the shadow stretches the other way to give a sense of the light bulb swaying. The door has gotten closer and we can read the stencil: WILLIAM ROOK RESERVES CRIME UNIT NO DIALOGUE Panel 4 The panel is a close up of the door. The figure's shadow is stretched up the door. The figure's hand is outstretched towards the doorknob. NO DIALOGUE Page 6 Panel 1 In the panel is a wide interior shot of the office of WILLIAM ROOK. His office is a barren landscape; it's nothing but him behind his desk, a file cabinet, and a foldable metal chair in front of the desk. He's looking down while he does paperwork. His desk has no personal effects other than a plain metal jar with a few pens in it and a boxy intercom unit. The door opposite Rook is slightly ajar. The light source is from a white fluorescent light on the ceiling in the office. Rook: COME ON IN, SLAY. SFX: CREEEEEEEK Panel 2 In the panel, we're seeing things from directly behind Rook. In front of the room, the door is now wide open with John Slay standing there. He's still wearing black pants, the lab coat and no shoes. John: HEY WILL, LONG TIME NO SEE. HOW'RE BECCA AND THE KIDS? Panel 3 In the panel reverse the camera angle so we're behind John and get our first real look at William Rook. Rook is African American, in his late 50's and soft around the middle. He's starting too bald, which is apparent even with his short-cropped hair. Though his eyes are tired, there are the remaining embers of a passionate cop and close friend to Slay. He's wearing a sweat stained white short sleeve button-up shirt, and brown slacks. Rook: SKIP THE PLEASANTRIES, JOHN. YOU'RE HERE FOR A REASON. Rook: WE'LL GET TO HOW THAT HARPY DIVORCED ME, TOOK EVERYTHING, AND TURNED MY INGRATE KIDS AGAINST ME WITH STORIES OF FARM ANIMAL RAPE LATER. Panel 4 In the panel, we get a close up profile of Rook. Other than what was established last panel, we can see the wrinkles and wear life has left on Rook's face. Rook: YOU'RE HERE TO INVESTIGATE THE DOUBLE HOMICIDE IN RESERVE 9. BEFORE I GET YOU THE INTEL, LETS GET YOU INTO SOME REAL CLOTHES. John: HOW BOUT A CIGARETTE? Rook: ONE THING AT A TIME… Page 7 Panel 1 In the panel, we're facing in towards a movie theatre-type room filled with a row of seats. John is just getting into his seat. He is now wearing a black suit jacket, dark blue dress shirt and plain black slacks. There is a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. John: NICE INTEL ROOM. REMINDS ME OF O'FARREL'S BACK HOME. Rook, (off panel): SHUT UP, JOHN YOU GOD DAMN PERVERT. HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW... Panel 2 The panel is a tight close up of the screen. There are two horribly mutilated corpses lying next to each other on cement morgue slabs. One of the corpses is a Caucasian male, late 20's. The other corpse is an African American female in her late 30's. Their features are average; nothing really stands out except that both have the number 9 carved into their chests. Rook, from off panel: WE FOUND THESE TWO…LOVEBIRDS LEFT AT THE BORDER BETWEEN RESERVES 9 AND 0. , AS FROM THE DOWNLOADED PROFILES IN YOUR HEAD, YOU KNOW 0 IS COMMAND CENTRAL AND 9 IS 21st CENTURY AMERICA. Panel 3 The panel is still tight on the screen. There is a picture of a download suite. It looks like the clinical room John woke up in. There's a young woman lying on a bed, wires coming out the back of her head and into a computer console similar to the ones in the Command Central computer room. The young woman looks calm and happy, obviously an actress. Rook, from off panel: WHEN WE WIPE AWAY AND RELOAD THE VOLUNTEERS MINDS TO BE PLACED IN THE RESERVES, WE SYSTEMATICALY ELIMINATE SUCH PARTS OF THOUGHT AND ACTION RELATED TO VIOLENCE. Rook: EXCEPT IN RESERVE 17. Rook: THAT'S WHY I'M USUALLY THE ONLY COP AROUND HERE. John, from below the screen, off panel: RESERVE 17...FEUDAL JAPAN. Page 8 Panel 1 The panel is a medium wide shot of the screening room. John is still sitting down and looking forward, lighting a new cigarette. Rook is walking towards John from the back of the room. Rook: SO, I TAKE IT YOU WANT TO HIT THE STREETS IN 9? John: YOU KNOW HOW THIS WORKS, JUST GET ME A GUN. John: OH, AND GET THAT DOWNLOAD ACTRESS TO TWITCH AND GAG, NONE OF THIS FLUFFY "IT'S FUN TO HAVE INFORMATION SHOVED INTO MY BRAIN" %&$#@. Panel 2 Cut to the computer room of Command Central. We can see John and Rook standing in front of a door labeled NO EXIT. Their backs are to us and they're looking at each other. Rook: THIS DOOR LEADS DIRECTLY TO RESERVE 9. THE BADGE WE GAVE YOU IS ALSO A COMMS UNIT. JUST PRESS THE EMBLEM AND YOU'LL BE PIPED DIRECTLY TO ME. GOOD LUCK, JOHN. John: I WON'T NEED IT, WILL. THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EASY WRAP-UP. I JUST HAVE TO GRAB THE MORON WHO BROKE OUT OF HIS PROGRAMMING AND HAUL HIM IN. LUCK DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. Page 9 Panel 1 This page is a full page panel. John is silhouetted coming out of a doorway. In front of him is a sprawling city landscape. It's late in the afternoon and the city is bathed in a soft yellow glow. John: AH HELL, IT'S THE WORLD.