by D L Jones
CHAUNCY looks at his watch then walks over to his desk while taking out a set of keys from his pocket.
OFFICER FORD
Sir, I know this is unfortunate, but we are here to help. So, you said—
CHAUNCY
Excuse me miss FORD, I know I don't actually pay you and I apologize for saying that, I'm just mad and frustrated. You two have a seat and let’s see what we can do to catch the thieves and stop this from happening again.
CHAUNCY unlocks the top drawer of his desk and grabs a TV remote and sit it on top of the desk. He then reaches back into the desk and picks up a prescription pill bottle and opens it.
OFFICER FORD
I accept your apology, don't worry about it. You are upset and it is understandable... but its OFFICER FORD.
CHAUNCY dumps a couple of pills into the palm of his hand, takes one, with no water, then puts the rest loosely in his pocket as he puts the bottle back in the drawer.
CHAUNCY
OFFICER FORD it is.
OFFICER FORD
So, you were saying you had surveillance film of what happened? Can we see that?
CHAUNCY grabs the remote and points it at the monitor
OFFICER RYAN
That is some setup you got there. I didn't even notice the cameras when I was walking through the store
CHAUNCY
Yea, I spent a ton of cash on this so that you don't see the cameras when you are walking through the store I even got my house wired. I hit this switch and...
CHAUNCY leans over to his computer and presses a button and all the monitors go black.
After a second, they all turn back on and you see what looks like a bedroom, a living room, the front door, basically every inch of a house
OFFICER FORD
Is that your house?
CHAUNCY
Yes, it is... and the cameras are just as invisible there as they are here.
CHAUNCY leans over to the computer and switches the video back to the store cameras.
He points the remote at the screen and start the video.
Everyone focusses their attention to the monitor mounted on the wall
The video starts
3 Thieves are standing outside of the store wearing all black
THIEF #1 slings a cinder block through the front window.
The 2 other thieves run directly for the 60-inch flat panel TV while Thief #1 grabs a movie player off the shelf.
You can then see the lights from a van backing up near the front of the store and they load the stolen items.
THIEF #2 ran back into the store and grabbed a handful of cables. They all got in the van and drove away.
OFFICER RYAN
Do you have sound on this?
CHAUNCY
Yea, let me turn it up and I'll replay it.
CHAUNCY rewinds the footage, turns on the sound and play the video again
OFFICER RYAN
Did you hear that? Somebody said something
Chancy replays the part just before Thief #2 goes back in the store. They listen and hears a voice coming from off camera, the driver says something.
OFFICER FORD
They said "go back and get some cables, those things are expensive"
CHAUNCY
Shit! Who cares how expensive cables are when you stole the TV you need them for!
OFFICER RYAN
From this video, we can’t make out any faces, but we would like to hold on to the tape if at all possible. One thing we do know, they knew exactly what they were going in there to get so they have been in your store before.
CHAUNCY leans over to his computer and type a few things on the keyboard
CHAUNCY
Sure, I’ll make you a copy, just a sec.
I need to be out on the floor more often, so I know if someone is in the store shopping or getting a shopping list together to come back later... and steal my shit!
CHAUNCY opens the disk drive on the computer and grabs the disk and hand it over to OFFICER RYAN
OFFICER RYAN
MR. Peters, I would say take notice of your customers but that's it, there is a whole lot more paperwork involved with a murder verses a B&E.
They all walk out of the office towards the store's showroom.
CHAUNCY proceeds to escort the 2 police OFFICERs through the showroom. A few employees have now shown up and are looking around, wondering what has happened. The workers have just finished replacing the storefront window pane.
CHAUNCY
One of you get a broom and clean up this glass, we got to open the doors in 30 minutes
The Personal Trainer
What happened, someone broke in again?
CHAUNCY
Yea, third time in the last 2 months. They got the 60 inch this time.
OFFICER FORD stops to look at the well-built man walking past the store observing the damage
OFFICER FORD
Please tell me he broke into your store, I’d love to get him in cuffs
CHAUNCY
Miss--I mean OFFICER FORD
OFFICER FORD
I was being Miss FORD that time, you got it right. I am human. Who is he?
CHAUNCY
I don't know his name, he works at the gym down the street. Use to be my wife's personal trainer. Had to put a stop to that.
AYE RODNEY... get someone to help you bring another one of those 60 inches from the back.
CHAUNCY and the 2 police OFFICERs are going over the final details while the employees are cleaning and getting ready for the store opening. One of the televisions is turned on with an employee watching.
TV newscast (O.S.)
The fifth family has gone missing last night in what has seem to be a serial kidnapping epidemic. The other 4 families were kidnapped while returning to the city and was held hostage for approximately a week then let go. All their belongings were stolen. The identities of the kidnappers are still unknown. They didn't ask for ransom or anything, just held the families for a week then let them go. More at 12...
CHAUNCY
Turn that off! We don't need that depressing shit playing when the customers come.
INT. The hd shop BACK OFFICE - 11 am
CHAUNCY walks back into his office and sits at his desk. The phone rings. CHAUNCY answers the phone.
CHAUNCY
Hello, the HD shop, CHAUNCY speaking, may I help you?
REBECCA (V.O.)
Hey bae, what did the police say? What was stolen?
CHAUNCY
Not much the police can do as usual. The thieves been in the store before though, they stole that 60 inch I had on display and a movie player, but they broke my whole front glass to get in. Fixing that costs me 2 times the amount of what they stole, it pisses me off!
CHAUNCY puts the phone on Speaker and continues to talk as he walks around his office getting things prepared for the day.
REBECCA (V.O.)
CHAUNCY! One of your bitches called here again today! I thought we were over this!
CHAUNCY
One of my bitches? I don't have any bitches... I got a wife, that would sometimes fall into that category, but I wouldn't dare tell her.
REBECCA (V.O.)
Who is TRACY? She called today and this ain't the first time I saw her number on our phone!
CHAUNCY
Hold up Becca, Tracy is not a bitch... well I mean HE is a HE, not a female.
REBECCA (V.O.)
Don't try that shit with me CHAUNCY, we've been through this before... I know –
CHAUNCY
10 years ago! We've been through this before 10 years ago, when I was younger! When I was dumber! You still have suspicions about me playing around... now?! I thought we were well past that Becca. Tracy is Tre... remember him? We went to high school together, he was in our wedding. Remember I told you he was coming to visit this weekend?
REBECCA (V.O.)
Oh OK (laugh) yea I guess I still get a little insecure at times, you a
re gone so much and keep so busy.
CHAUNCY
You know I was just stupid back then, that will never happen again. I love you and only want you. Hell, you are the finest, sexiest woman in the city, what would I want from another woman that I can’t get from you?
REBECCA (V.O.)
A baby...
CHAUNCY
We will have a child, we just have to keep trying. And I'm definitely not complaining about the trying part.
REBECCA (V.O.)
We have been trying for the last 3 years and nothing - Wait a minute, you are talking about the same Tre that came to our wedding and used it as a focus test for his thesis, airing all our dirty laundry all over state so he can ace his class? I thought you weren't talking to him.
CHAUNCY
Well it wasn't that I stopped talking to him, I just decided to keep my distance. But like my infidelities, that was 10 years ago also. It’s the past. Me and him spent a lot of time together growing up. It will be good to hang out with ole Tre again.
INT. Office - 3 pm
TRACY JONES or "TRE", as his friends call him, sits at his desk wearing a white lab coat and glasses. The 36-year-old wiry framed man is going over some paperwork.
Tre taps the speaker phone button on his desk phone and dials an extension and his assistant answers.
Tre
LUCY, could you get a hold of MICHAEL and see if he could come in here for a minute.
The assistant (LUCY)
Sure thing MR. Jones.
An Older black gentleman wearing the typical slacks, button down shirt and tie that you would find as normal wear in an office environment is seen picking up his phone from across the office floor then he gets up and heads over to Tre's office.
MICHAEL
What's up Tre, you ready for your trip?
TRE
As ready as I'm going to be, I haven't seen CHAUNCY in over 10 years and we didn't exactly part on good terms. But it’s not going to be all fun and relaxation, I have a lot of work to do while I'm visiting.
MICHAEL
Remember, you are not visiting, you are there to work, that is what this trip is about.
TRE
I know. Are the samples ready? This is the new batch, right?
MICHAEL
Yep, the latest and greatest. You should come down to the lab and watch the test they are doing now. There has been a lot of progress.
MICHAEL and TRE walk through the office floor past a row of cubicles then onto the elevator
INT. Lab - 3:30 pm
TRE and MICHAEL get off the elevator which opens to a huge Lab environment, they walk over to one section of the lab.
There are 2 large tables, each with a maze. There is also a cage with about 20 white mice. MICHAEL and TRE walk up to the tables and look at what is going on.
TRE
I don't get this new set-up. That maze is pretty much a straight shot to the end while the other one branches off in all those different directions.
MICHAEL
Yep, that is exactly what you are looking at. The table with all of the branching paths circle around the cheese with no access to the cheese.
MICHAEL gets a mouse from cage and holds it by the tail, letting him dangle. He then holds the piece of cheese in front of the mouse and lets him smell it.
He puts the cheese in the center of the maze and lets the mouse down at the beginning of the maze
The mouse sniffs around a bit then starts running, he keeps circling the area that circles the cheese looking for the cheese.
TRE
So that mouse knows the cheese is there and he just keeps circling, seems like typical behavior.
MICHAEL
It is indeed typical behavior. That's the control, the mouse acts as is expected.
Now this maze here is a straight shot to the finish.
MICHAEL walks over to the other maze and holds his hands out as if he is displaying a prized showcase.
TRE
Ok that's a single hall to the cheese but it’s still block—
MICHAEL
Yes, its blocked off.... with This removable block.
The block is slightly heavier than what these mice are physically able to move.
MICHAEL grabs a different mouse from the cage and grabs a syringe from the table and inject the mouse
TRE
Well mice have been known to gnaw off their own limbs to escape mousetraps.
TRE watches as MICHAEL dangles the injected mouse by the tail.
He then takes a piece of cheese and holds it in front of the mouse.
The mouse seems to get extremely excited trying to get at the cheese, biting MICHAEL a few times and viciously grabbing and biting at the cheese while dangling.
TRE (CONT'D)
That mouse seems a lot more aggressive than before.
MICHAEL
Take a look at this... Oh just so you know, this is the 37th time we have done this today.
MICHAEL puts the block of cheese at the finish, behind the weighted block.
He drops the mouse in the maze at the starting poINT.
The mouse immediately runs toward the finish at a speed beyond that of the fastest mice they've seen in the lab.
The mouse runs to the end and slams head first into the weighted block at full speed. The block moved just a fraction of an inches.
The mouse then viciously claws and bites at the block.
TRE
Wow, I've never seen anything like that before. That mouse seems to be really determined. To the point where it completely ignored the pain from slamming into the block at that speed
The Mouse then takes off in the opposite direction towards the beginning of the maze. He turns around and sprints back to the block and slams head first again.
MICHAEL
The mouse isn't ignoring the pain, the brain stopped registering it.
The mouse repeats this act several times till the block was pushed enough through the opening that the mouse can get around it and to the cheese
TRE
My research stated this would happen, but I didn't think we could achieve that this soon
MICHAEL
Well the last set of changes you made to the formula seem to put us at the "almost there" state. As you can see by the speed of the mouse, the brain is able to tell the body's muscles to perform at levels above normal, even the mouse’s skin seems to go into a protective mode and harden just a tad to brace for the impact.
MICHAEL reaches into the maze and remove the weighted block. The mouse continues to eat the cheese.
TRE
So, we have created a near invincible mouse...
MICHAEL
No, the mouse is still completely vincible, but it will be the toughest mouse you have ever seen... for a short period of time.
TRE
How long?
MICHAEL
Well it’s hard to say with other specimens, but with the mice we have and the dosage we have been giving them it last about 5 minutes. The other problems we have had are still there with prolong use, so we have been using a new mouse each time. There is one problem...
MICHAEL and TRE look at the maze and notice the mouse is laying limp on the floor beside the cheese. The lab tech walks over and picks up the mouse as if it is dead and puts it in a second cage filled with a different set of mice
TRE
Did the mouse die?
MICHAEL
No, it didn't die. It seems that all of the benefits of the formula are fueled by a goal. Which in this case was getting to the piece of cheese.
Once the goal is accomplished the Hypothalamus realizes it has delegated functions beyond the body's safe capabilities and tries to normalize the brain functions in a hurry. Thus, the mouse passes out.
TRE
Hmm... new problem...
MICHAEL
Yep, new problem. The passing out seem to have no effects on the mouse. Just looks like it’s a way of the brain retu
rning to normal... in a hurry. But something you have to be mindful of. Nothing we can do about it now.
