SCENE 2

Characters
SIMMONS
MALONE
LOVELACE

Setting
(The action takes place on one side of the stage, where the lights are up on a small table. Three tired and haggard men are seated at the table, wearing white, button-up shirts and ties. The older man, LOVELACE, sits at the head of the table, waiting for the other two, MALONE and SIMMONS, to finish reading through a pile of folders haphazardly strewn about the table.)

SIMMONS
I see a surprisingly low number of casualties.

MALONE
Yes... Like the old woman, we managed to find him just before things got really detrimental.

SIMMONS
Where is he now?

MALONE
Underground, with the other four.

SIMMONS
Right.

(He closes the folder and tosses it onto the table, yawning.)

You had a new one for us, Mr. Lovelace?

LOVELACE
Yes... Gentlemen, prepare for a shock...

(LOVELACE slides a slightly less disheveled folder across the table towards SIMMONS, who cranes his neck to glance at the picture on the front.)

SIMMONS
She's cute.

LOVELACE
Read the file.

(SIMMONS shrugs and flips back the cover of the folder, briefly scanning the page before reading.)

SIMMONS
Name, Harukawa Aiko. Female, 20 years of age. Manchester, New Hampshire. She was living at the New Hampshire Institute of Art at the time of her collection on October 9th.

MALONE
Collection? She's not... she's not here, is she?

SIMMONS
Underground.

MALONE
Oh, Jesus... don't-

LOVELACE
Mr. Malone, no one comes here but us. ...Hell, you've been outside. No one goes anywhere these days. We're perfectly safe.

MALONE
Yes... in a nice, clean concrete and steel box.

LOVELACE
We're not allowed to take risks. Not when we're the only ones.

(SIMMONS stops reading and lets the folder drop onto the table as LOVELACE continues.)

We have to remain diligent, and brave. Save our country. Most of Europe is refusing to get involved in this mess, and we still can't reach our agents in Africa. Russia, I'm afraid… well… Anyway, it's up to us to-... Simmons?

(LOVELACE and MALONE glance at SIMMONS, who is still staring at the folder, shaking his head in denial.))

Simmons?

SIMMONS
Tho-... Thous.... A thousand, f-four hundred, and ninety-three?!

LOVELACE
I told you to prepare for a shock.

MALONE
A thousand what?

SIMMONS
People, Malone. Students.

(The lights fade on the group.)