Mike distractedly scrolls down Facebook posts on his
computer, while on a phone call. He's kept on hold.
Someone finally answers...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Hello! This is Sheila from the
Facebook help-desk; how can we be of
help?...
MIKE
Hi Sheila, my name is Michael Brooks
and... I have a big problem on my
hands...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
OK, what is it?
MIKE
Someone has hacked into my late
father's account...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Your what?... Sorry?
MIKE
My father passed away a few days ago,
and someone has been using his
profile since...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Oh, I'm so sorry about that, Sir...
MIKE
Yea, thanks... So... What do we?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Well, you have to report it, report
the profile as a fake. From the
website... Do you know how to do
that, Sir?...
MIKE
Well, I... Since we're on the
phone... Could you please help me
with that?
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Yea, sure!... One second... OK, so
what's your father's name?
MIKE
Daniel Brooks.
Sound of typing...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
I have several Daniel Brooks's
here...
MIKE
Yea, it's the one from Long Island.
White-haired handsome guy, large
smile, formally dressed...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Yep, got it... OK, let's see... Um...
Typing sound...
MIKE
I had posted a eulogy on the front
page, but they removed it... I dunno
why someone would do that... They've
been messaging people and stuff...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Um... That's... That's weird...
MIKE
What?...
More typing sound...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
It's been flagged, but not as a
"fake"... It's flagged under "special
conditions"... That's really, really
weird...
MIKE
What does that mean?
OPERATOR (O.S.)
It means it's upper management scope
now; only a select team in our
company can operate it...
MIKE
But... Why?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
I have no idea, Sir... It's actually
the first time I see one of those
flags...
MIKE
Well... Maybe it's part of the
hack... I mean, obviously!... All the
more reason to freeze the account...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
It can't be part of the hack, Sir,
this is internal; someone from our
management has marked it as such...
That's way, way above my pay grade,
Sir... I can't even report the
account, let alone freeze it...
Mike thinks for a minute...
MIKE
So... What can we do?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Um... I'll inform my superiors about
this, and they'll get back to you
ASAP... May I have your contact info,
Sir?
MIKE
Yea, sure... It's Michael Brooks:
631 - 887 - 2850...
Typing sound.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
OK, got it, thanks!... Have we
answered all your questions?... Are
you satisfied with the quality of our
service?
MIKE
Um... Seriously?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
You know what?... Never mind that
question... We'll get back to you as
soon as possible. Have a great day,
Sir!
MIKE
Yea, thanks... You too...
She hangs up.
At that moment, a notification beeps on Mike's computer. He
gazes at the screen...
It's a message from... his dad, Danny Brooks!!
The message says: "Mike? Is that you?"
MIKE (cont'd)
What the!?...
Mike texts back: "Who is this???"
The chat window displays three dots; someone's writing
back... The answer displays...
"If I tell you, do you promise to keep an open mind?"
Mike texts back angrily:
"Go fuck yourself! Shame on you! I'm calling the cops!"
The chat window displays three dots again, for a few
seconds... Someone is typing...
Mike gazes at the screen intently, holds his breath...
Then the three dots disappear; "they" changed their minds,
went silent...
Mike opens an email client.
He types in the recipient field "LAURA", and gets an
automatic suggestion "laura.peyton@nypd.org". He picks it.
He pastes a screenshot of his conversation with the "hacker"
into the email body window, and starts typing: "Hi
Laura,"...
He then lays back, ponders for a minute...
He changes his mind, closes the window, gets a confirmation
message asking: "Save draft" or "Discard". He picks
"Discard", then gazes distractedly at the screen...
At that moment, his phone rings...
It's an unknown number.... He takes the call...
MIKE (cont'd)
Hello?...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Hello?... Is this Michael Brooks?
It's the rough voice of an older man.
MIKE
Yes, who is this?...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Michael! This is John Shepherd; I'm
the editor of Clear Horizons, the
online psychology magazine...
MIKE
Yea, hi...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
You probably don't know me, but Danny
was a good friend of mine; he
published several articles with us...
He was really something, your dad...
All my condolences by the way, God
bless his soul... I just read the bad
news...
MIKE
Yes, thank you Sir... And nice
meeting you. He often talked about
your webzine...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Good things, I hope!...
(Laughs )
Now about that last article you sent
me... Where on Earth did you dig that
up, son?...
Mike is baffled...
MIKE
Sorry?... I... I'm not following...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
The last article by Danny, "new
beginnings", the one you sent me
yesterday... It was you, wasn't
it?...
MIKE
No... I have no idea what you're
talking about...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Well someone sent me an article
yesterday from Danny's email. It
couldn't have been him, could it?
MIKE
Um...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Sorry, that was a rhetorical... God
rest his soul...
MIKE
Shit!... They got into his email
too!... God damn it!!...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Sorry?... What's that?...
MIKE
Sorry, Sir... You see, we're dealing
with a bunch of hackers!... They 'got
their hands on my dad's passwords!...
They've been using his social media,
posting bogus messages to random
people, and now I'm learning from you
that they got to his email too!...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Oh my God!... That's... That's
terrible...
MIKE
Yea... So the article they sent you,
it's obviously bogus too, so...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Well... Not really, no... The article
was definitely written by Danny
himself, that's for sure...
MIKE
What?... But... That's impossible!
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
I've been a magazine editor for more
than 30 years, son. I recognize a
writer's work when I see it,
especially a style like your dad's,
unmistakable... I'm telling you, this
was definitely written by Danny... Or
it's one Hell of a copycat...
MIKE
I dunno... Maybe, they came across an
old article of his, which he had
never sent out...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Yea, that would make sense... But
then, it must have been edited. You
see, the article mentions the
sustainable energy bill; this is very
current... When this bill came out,
your dad probably wasn't of sound
mind anymore... Someone has edited
the article...
MIKE
OK... So it's definitely fake then...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Well... It's rather revisited... Like
you were saying, they must have found
an old draft from Danny, and sent it
from his email, after minor edits...
Anyway, the reason I'm calling is: do
you want us to publish the article
under Daniel's name, as post-mortem?
MIKE
Um... No, I prefer not, Sir...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Why not?... It's a pretty good
— ②
INT. MIKE'S HOME - DAY11
Mike distractedly scrolls down Facebook posts on his
computer, while on a phone call. He's kept on hold.
Someone finally answers...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Hello! This is Sheila from the
Facebook help-desk; how can we be of
help?...
MIKE
Hi Sheila, my name is Michael Brooks
and... I have a big problem on my
hands...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
OK, what is it?
MIKE
Someone has hacked into my late
father's account...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Your what?... Sorry?
MIKE
My father passed away a few days ago,
and someone has been using his
profile since...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Oh, I'm so sorry about that, Sir...
MIKE
Yea, thanks... So... What do we?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Well, you have to report it, report
the profile as a fake. From the
website... Do you know how to do
that, Sir?...
MIKE
Well, I... Since we're on the
phone... Could you please help me
with that?
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Yea, sure!... One second... OK, so
what's your father's name?
MIKE
Daniel Brooks.
Sound of typing...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
I have several Daniel Brooks's
here...
MIKE
Yea, it's the one from Long Island.
White-haired handsome guy, large
smile, formally dressed...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Yep, got it... OK, let's see... Um...
Typing sound...
MIKE
I had posted a eulogy on the front
page, but they removed it... I dunno
why someone would do that... They've
been messaging people and stuff...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Um... That's... That's weird...
MIKE
What?...
More typing sound...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
It's been flagged, but not as a
"fake"... It's flagged under "special
conditions"... That's really, really
weird...
MIKE
What does that mean?
OPERATOR (O.S.)
It means it's upper management scope
now; only a select team in our
company can operate it...
MIKE
But... Why?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
I have no idea, Sir... It's actually
the first time I see one of those
flags...
MIKE
Well... Maybe it's part of the
hack... I mean, obviously!... All the
more reason to freeze the account...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
It can't be part of the hack, Sir,
this is internal; someone from our
management has marked it as such...
That's way, way above my pay grade,
Sir... I can't even report the
account, let alone freeze it...
Mike thinks for a minute...
MIKE
So... What can we do?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
Um... I'll inform my superiors about
this, and they'll get back to you
ASAP... May I have your contact info,
Sir?
MIKE
Yea, sure... It's Michael Brooks:
631 - 887 - 2850...
Typing sound.
OPERATOR (O.S.)
OK, got it, thanks!... Have we
answered all your questions?... Are
you satisfied with the quality of our
service?
MIKE
Um... Seriously?...
OPERATOR (O.S.)
You know what?... Never mind that
question... We'll get back to you as
soon as possible. Have a great day,
Sir!
MIKE
Yea, thanks... You too...
She hangs up.
At that moment, a notification beeps on Mike's computer. He
gazes at the screen...
It's a message from... his dad, Danny Brooks!!
The message says: "Mike? Is that you?"
MIKE (cont'd)
What the!?...
Mike texts back: "Who is this???"
The chat window displays three dots; someone's writing
back... The answer displays...
"If I tell you, do you promise to keep an open mind?"
Mike texts back angrily:
"Go fuck yourself! Shame on you! I'm calling the cops!"
The chat window displays three dots again, for a few
seconds... Someone is typing...
Mike gazes at the screen intently, holds his breath...
Then the three dots disappear; "they" changed their minds,
went silent...
Mike opens an email client.
He types in the recipient field "LAURA", and gets an
automatic suggestion "laura.peyton@nypd.org". He picks it.
He pastes a screenshot of his conversation with the "hacker"
into the email body window, and starts typing: "Hi
Laura,"...
He then lays back, ponders for a minute...
He changes his mind, closes the window, gets a confirmation
message asking: "Save draft" or "Discard". He picks
"Discard", then gazes distractedly at the screen...
At that moment, his phone rings...
It's an unknown number.... He takes the call...
MIKE (cont'd)
Hello?...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Hello?... Is this Michael Brooks?
It's the rough voice of an older man.
MIKE
Yes, who is this?...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Michael! This is John Shepherd; I'm
the editor of Clear Horizons, the
online psychology magazine...
MIKE
Yea, hi...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
You probably don't know me, but Danny
was a good friend of mine; he
published several articles with us...
He was really something, your dad...
All my condolences by the way, God
bless his soul... I just read the bad
news...
MIKE
Yes, thank you Sir... And nice
meeting you. He often talked about
your webzine...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Good things, I hope!...
(Laughs )
Now about that last article you sent
me... Where on Earth did you dig that
up, son?...
Mike is baffled...
MIKE
Sorry?... I... I'm not following...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
The last article by Danny, "new
beginnings", the one you sent me
yesterday... It was you, wasn't
it?...
MIKE
No... I have no idea what you're
talking about...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Well someone sent me an article
yesterday from Danny's email. It
couldn't have been him, could it?
MIKE
Um...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Sorry, that was a rhetorical... God
rest his soul...
MIKE
Shit!... They got into his email
too!... God damn it!!...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Sorry?... What's that?...
MIKE
Sorry, Sir... You see, we're dealing
with a bunch of hackers!... They 'got
their hands on my dad's passwords!...
They've been using his social media,
posting bogus messages to random
people, and now I'm learning from you
that they got to his email too!...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Oh my God!... That's... That's
terrible...
MIKE
Yea... So the article they sent you,
it's obviously bogus too, so...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Well... Not really, no... The article
was definitely written by Danny
himself, that's for sure...
MIKE
What?... But... That's impossible!
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
I've been a magazine editor for more
than 30 years, son. I recognize a
writer's work when I see it,
especially a style like your dad's,
unmistakable... I'm telling you, this
was definitely written by Danny... Or
it's one Hell of a copycat...
MIKE
I dunno... Maybe, they came across an
old article of his, which he had
never sent out...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Yea, that would make sense... But
then, it must have been edited. You
see, the article mentions the
sustainable energy bill; this is very
current... When this bill came out,
your dad probably wasn't of sound
mind anymore... Someone has edited
the article...
MIKE
OK... So it's definitely fake then...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Well... It's rather revisited... Like
you were saying, they must have found
an old draft from Danny, and sent it
from his email, after minor edits...
Anyway, the reason I'm calling is: do
you want us to publish the article
under Daniel's name, as post-mortem?
MIKE
Um... No, I prefer not, Sir...
WEBZINE EDITOR (O.S.)
Why not?... It's a pretty good