Airtight Invasion

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SCENE opens one night as a beautiful young woman named Veronica shuts down her family's house for the evening. Veronica is the daughter of a rich businessman with suspected ties to organized crime and she looks every bit like a mob boss' daughter, with a full face of makeup and flashy clothing. But, despite her grown-up appearance, Veronica is an anxious girl ... pacing through the different levels of her mansion and pleading with her father on the phone. It's the first time that she's been left alone for the weekend with only one guard on duty and Veronica does not believe he will be enough to protect her, especially from any of daddy's enemies. Her father is dismissive, telling her to calm down, she is 18-years-old, and that the guard is a trained professional. He and her mother will be home in the morning. Strutting into the kitchen, she takes a deep breath before agreeing and her father hangs up, leaving her to reflect for a moment in the silence of the room. She opens the fridge, grabs a bottle of water, and heads to the front door. The security guard, Bruno, is standing in front of it as he always does during the night shift. Opening the door, she says goodnight sweetly and offers him the water, which he takes gratefully. It's hot out. Veronica kisses him on the cheek and thanks him for always keeping her safe, before closing the door. Bruno turns back to his duties, standing on the front steps and sipping his water. He smiles at the thought of the sweet innocent girl. CUT TO TITLE PLATE Bruno is lying on the front steps, the water bottle open and dripping beside him. Three men, dressed in black, step over him cautiously and open the door. It is not locked. They quietly file into the foyer and down through the various levels of the house to Veronica's room. She is resting in her bed, dressed in silk pajamas. They approach and stare down at her, each wearing black ski masks and breathing hard. The teen girl tosses for a moment before slowly opening her eyes and staring straight at them. Her eyes go wide. 'You're coming with us,' one of them growls. Cut to black over sounds of rustling and resistance. 8 Hours Later. Veronica struggles to see. Something is over her head and she begs the men to remove it. They rip it off, a pillowcase, and, for the first time, she is exposed to her surroundings. She is being kept in a messy storage locker and surrounded by two of the men, who seem almost as anxious as she is. 'Who are you?' she mutters. The two men look at each other, before turning back. 'You are being held until your father pays us what he owes us,' one says. Veronica lowers her eyes in fear. Her hands are crudely tied together, and she winches at the ropes. 'Do you think you could please remove these?' She begs. 'I'm obviously not going anywhere.' The men look at each other again, debating what to do, before the other pops open a switchblade and cuts her hands free. 'You better sit still,' he meekly warns, 'or else!' Suddenly, a door opens and a third man, the eldest of the three, comes strutting in the room. He sees that Veronica is loose and immediately rushes over, leaving the door ajar, to berate the other men for untying her. They tell him to chill, she promised not to run, and besides ... they all know she has nowhere to go. Calming down, the third man gets right into Veronica's face and tries to intimidate her. He warns her not to cross them or try anything stupid. They are trained professionals. They don't care how they make their money at the end of the day ... and disposal is much easier than ransom negotiations. Veronica clams up and agrees with everything that the man, who is clearly the leader, says. He seems to take great satisfaction from this power trip and tosses the phone into the hands of the other two men. 'Use this burner, boys,' he barks, turning back and flashing a sadistic grin at Veronica. 'Time to call daddy!' 24 Hours Later. Veronica sits slumped in a corner, sweaty and anxious, while the men try to talk to her father. This is the fourth call they've placed since the heist, and her dad is sobbing on the other end of the line. He can put together some of the ransom but not everything they are asking for. They are being unreasonable, and he begs for leniency. He hasn't called the cops, after all. He is playing along. Finally, the leader hangs up on him angrily. This is not going as he had expected. He lashes out at the other two men, waving his mac around, and telling them that they are being too soft on the girl. If they had the balls to send her father a special delivery, it would wrap things up quickly. Veronica shrinks back and whispers that her father is just trying to negotiate. That's what he does. He's always been cheap. He has the whole amount. The leader grabs her. 'So, what the fuck do you recommend we try next, then?' He yells. 36 Hours Later. Veronica sits quietly in between the two men, as the leader yells into the phone. He is telling the father that he know