15
INT FACILITY LIBRARY
The middle of the library has been converted to a makeshift theater, with a projector and its screen hanging from the ceiling and several rows of chairs situated where they were for orientation. DAVE, HAYDEN, ZEKE, and AARÓN are watching video footage of the earlier training exercise, accompanied by JANACEK, JAKOB the janitor, and DR. ODIMIS, the physician from Species 004. On the screen, SABRINA is expertly dispatching her necrotic with several well-placed pistol shots. ZEKE is clearly impressed.
ZEKE
No wonder she was on the Detail. Girl's got skills.
DR. ODIMIS
Her level of marksmanship is quite impressive, though like most of you she will need to un-learn much of her training and not aim for the center of mass each time.
AARÓN
(quietly)
Old habits die hard.
The group quiets down as AARÓN's exercise plays. After dispatching the last of his pop-up targets, AARÓN smells the necrotic and immediately suspects the worst.
JANACEK
I need a copy of this to show the Chicago office.
AARÓN peers around a corner and spots the necrotic before it notices him. Rather than rushing to engage it like the others, the former sniper studies it a few moments to learn its capabilities, then quickly and quietly removes both his shoes.
ZEKE
Mister Ninja over here...
AARÓN tiptoes quietly across the room carrying his shoes, taking care to avoid the necrotic's line of sight and using whatever concealment he can find. The necrotic's head begins swiveling back and forth as though it can smell AARÓN. The Marine cocks his right arm back and hurls one shoe at the wall behind the necrotic. Though this particular recording lacks sound, the viewers can see the necrotic's head whip around as the thrown shoe impacts the wall.
HAYDEN
Nice bit of improvisation, Espy.
As the creature shambles in the direction of the shoe, AARÓN emerges from cover behind it and dispatches it with a single perfectly-aimed shot to the back of the head, then calmly retrieves his other shoe after waiting a moment to see if the necrotic gets back up.
DAVE
Wow.
GRACE's exercise begins to play, and everyone inches forward in their seats.
JAKOB
Such a sweet little girl, but perhaps more dangerous than she looks, you think?
ALICIA
Mister Giles. A moment of your time?
Everyone but DR. ODIMIS turns suddenly to see that ALICIA is standing in the doorway, looking surprisingly calm and relaxed. DAVE tenses, suspecting something may be up.
ALICIA
(smiling faintly)
This won't take long.
DAVE looks at JANACEK, then at the others, then slowly gets up and makes his way toward the door. The others watch him go before JANACEK guides their attention back to the screen.
JANACEK
My favorite part's coming up here.
The others look back at the screen as GRACE stumbles back, having spotted the necrotic for the first time.
HAYDEN
Wait a sec-
Rather than train her gun on the approaching necrotic, GRACE reflexively throws both hands out in front of her. An invisible wave of force hurls the necrotic back against the far wall at a terrifying velocity. It impacts the wall and drops directly to the floor beneath a gory imprint of itself. The viewers each react vocally and loudly as DAVE exits the room into the hallway. ALICIA closes the door.
DAVE
(timidly)
Is there something I can do for you, Ms. Almodovar?
ALICIA
(pleasantly)
Don't worry - it's not about the camera. Actually, I kind of feel like I owe you an apology for the last few days.
DAVE manages to keep his jaw from dropping as ALICIA continues.
ALICIA
I know I'm hard on everyone during training - it's kind of what I do - but I realized I can definitely see where you might think I've been especially hard on you so far. I really don't mean to be, and it's nothing personal.
DAVE simply nods, trying to take in everything he's hearing.
ALICIA
It's just that I feel like one of the inspectors on the assembly line upstairs - it's my job to look at the bullets and make sure they're all up to our standards. If that inspector misses a bad round here and there, it could cause a gun to jam or misfire. People could die because of that one little slip-up. I look at my job here the same way - if I'm not as tough as possible in training, and people get into Atlas who aren't up to the challenges they'll face in the real world, a lot of people could die.
DAVE
I can see where you're coming from.
ALICIA
I'm glad you can. Like I said, nothing personal, and no hard feelings, I hope. While I'm here, I also wanted to bring an opportunity to your attention. I'm not sure how much Agent Janacek told you about our satellite companies, but Atlas owns a special investigative firm operating out of Austin. They deal mostly with kidnappings and missing-persons cases, and they've tangled with everyone from the Russian mob to the Mexican cartels to survivalist militias. I think your skills and your approach might be a good fit for them.
DAVE looks even more bewildered by the direction in which the conversation seems to be heading.
DAVE
(swkwardly)
Well... I figured I'd look into stuff like that after Alpha training ended.
ALICIA's patience starts to wear thin, but she presses on.
ALICIA
(evenly)
Listen. I know about the deal you made with Janacek - give it six days, and then decide what you want to do? I'm trying to save you time and a lot of pressure and frustration - and maybe injuries - by bringing this to your attention now. Trust me on this: you haven't seen half of what Alpha Phase has to throw at all of you.
DAVE thinks he knows where this is headed but stays calm.
DAVE
So what are you suggesting I do?
ALICIA inches back and shakes her head slightly.
ALICIA
(innocently)
I'm not suggesting anything, Mister Gi... David. I just wanted you to know that you have options besides continuing to suffer through Alpha Phase - because Alpha Phase is only going to get worse from here. I don't want you to stay just because you feel pressured to be here. Now, if you're asking what I'd do in your shoes? I'd stop and think about how the last three days have gone, and then I'd ask myself where I'd probably have more of a future.
The corner of DAVE's mouth twitches just enough for a tell. ALICIA pauses a moment, then reels it in a bit.
ALICIA
Tell you what. Take a little time and think it over, then tell Agent Janacek what you'd like to do. If you decide you want to look into the Austin job, I'll even get you a recommendation from Mister Murray. Sound good?
DAVE just nods. ALICIA smiles as she turns to leave, confident she's accomplished what she was going for.
ALICIA
(pleasantly)
Great. Enjoy the rest of your evening, David.
DAVE doesn't move for a long moment, his mind racing as he watches ALICIA walk away. He turns and opens the library door, only to see that JANACEK is already standing off in the far corner of the room away from the others. He sees DAVE enter and nods for him to join him. DAVE nods back and quietly makes his way around the perimeter of the library as the others watch ZEKE on the projector screen as he crushes a downed necrotic's skull with his heel.
ZEKE
(regretfully)
Waste of a good pair of boots, man. Felt good though.
DR. ODIMIS
(intrigued)
The spatter patterns of its brain tissue are quite different from what you'd expect in a living human. Fascinating.
DAVE joins JANACEK across the library, but it becomes apparent the agent already has a pretty good idea of what was said.
JANACEK
What'd she offer you for throwing in the towel?
DAVE shrugs.
DAVE
Some kinda security job in Texas. Think she's telling the truth?
JANACEK
Probably. No reason for her to lie about opportunities somewhere else - all she really wants is to keep you out of Atlas proper. I'm sure it's a tempting offer, too.
DAVE looks at JANACEK expectantly.
DAVE
But...?
JANACEK
(smirking)
But what? Expecting me to tell you what you oughta do?
DAVE
Obviously she doesn't want me here. So why doesn't she just kick me out, then?
JANACEK
(smiling)
My guess? Murray's blocking her.
DAVE
Almodovar's in charge of training.
JANACEK
Murray's in charge of the facility. Besides, he's never really...
JANACEK trails off, then chuckles.
JANACEK
I really shouldn't be sharing this stuff with you, Dave. My point is, I'm sure she would've just booted you out by now if she were able to, but for whatever reason she can't. Knowing Alpha Phase, you'd either have to really mess up an exercise, or get hurt somehow, or...
DAVE
Or leave on my own.
JANACEK nods.
JANACEK
Well, it sounds like she's making you a pretty good offer to do just that.
DAVE
She was trying to get rid of me today, wasn't she?
JANACEK pauses, then deflects the question.
JANACEK
On the Hazard Course? You all ran the same exercise, and Katherine was the only one who didn't pass.
DAVE
(impatiently)
Look, I know you can't tell me the stuff people say in the control room or in Murray's office or wherever else. We talked about the same thing in the Green Room, and I don't think Almodovar cared about Kat either way. Maybe she thought having her break down first would make it easier for me to lose it, but that conversation a moment ago was the first time that woman has ever even pretended not to hate me. How do I know she won't try something even worse to get rid of me later if I don't make this deal with her now?
JANACEK
I understand your reasoning, Dave. It's a tough call, and I know you're probably worried about letting me down after I stood up for you. But you shouldn't be. You have to do what you think is best.
DAVE
Which is why I know I have to stay.
JANACEK is caught a little off guard.
JANACEK
I'm sorry?
DAVE nods insistently.
DAVE
Almodovar hates me, fine. She only bribed me because she can't throw me out, but I know if that doesn't work she can always throw more zombies at me, or a vampire, or a were- a lycanthrope. So I opt out like she wants me to. But what happens after she gets rid of me if she decides Grace doesn't fit the profile? Or what if she thinks Frank's too old, or Zeke's too full of himself, or she just plain doesn't like one of the others?
JANACEK
You feel like staying here will help you protect the others.
DAVE
Maybe I'm crazy, I don't know. I'm really not all that great at this stuff, and realistically there probably isn't much I could do if she did try to get rid of someone else. But at least if I'm here to catch the worst of it, it'll be that much harder for her to take someone else out who deserves to be here more than I do.
JANACEK is cautiously impressed.
JANACEK
I appreciate the sentiment, Dave, but are you sure you know what you're committing to by going forward with this?
DAVE doesn't answer.
JANACEK
Say you're right and Alicia really is out to remove you from her program any way she can. I believe her when she says it'll only get worse for you from here on for the same reason I believe her when she says she has other choices to offer you. I know this woman, and I know why Murray let her run the training program. If there's something - anything - she's made a priority, she will stop at nothing to make that a reality. Are you sure you're up for that kind of a challenge?
DAVE thinks a moment, then smirks defiantly.
DAVE
I guess I'll just have to hit the books and the gym a little harder until I'm enough of a badass that she can't keep me out of her program even if she wants to.
JANACEK can't help but smile.
CUT TO NEXT SCENE
INT CHICAGO FACILITY ATRIUM
DAVE makes his way down a nondescript hallway and into a plain-looking elevator. The doors close behind him as the elevator begins its descent. Faint strains of Main Theme begin playing in the background.
JANACEK (V.O.)
I can't argue with an attitude like that. If it'll help you feel any better, though, maybe I can arrange a little field trip just for you. Might give you a better idea of what you should be aiming for besides just beating Almodovar.
HEAD-ON TRACKING SHOT
The elevator stops, the door opens, and DAVE makes his way out into another hallway. Main Theme intensifies a little.
JANACEK (V.O.)
I'm sure Murray won't mind, and I'd be happy to inform Alicia myself. I think you'd benefit from just a brief glimpse of the Chicago office. Play your cards right the rest of the way through training, and it might be your next stop.
A guard lets DAVE through a security doorway at the end of the hall with a nod, and DAVE steps out onto a balcony.
BIG HEAD-ON ZOOM OUT
DAVE leans on the railing for support. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open as he takes in the cavernous main floor of the Chicago facility. Main Theme continues to crescendo as we zoom past engineers disassembling a van-sized hovering alien probe, half a dozen elite Atlas troopers jogging in line in black body armor, an arcanist casting fireball at something offscreen, a handful of Species 004 walking by in some sort of loose-fitting pea-green jumpsuits, and two business-suited Field Agents examining a manila envelope of operation plans. The shot continues as we are buried deeper and deeper into the crowd until it becomes almost a wall of bustling people - human and otherwise.
CUT TO BLACK
END CREDITS
