1  INT. OBCO MEETING ROOM – DAY
  2  ============================
  3  
  4  Four people sit around a conference table. VERA, an unkempt beauty,
  5  leans way back in her chair and stares at CARL with resigned disbelief
  6  and no small measure of agitation. ALAN, an old soldier and senior to
  7  all present by some 20 years, surveys the group with expressionless,
  8  distant calm. VILLE is a young computer programmer, a geek, a lanky,
  9  bespectacled blonde in need of a shower, and he is not at ease in the
 10  presence of his superiors. Carl, equal parts prim professor and
 11  puppy-footed boy, leans forward toward Ville bearing the weight of his
 12  importance as inquisitor.
 13  
 14  > CARL
 15  > <br>(Enunciating with care; holding a print-out.)
 16  >> The personnel security traffic report from yesterday indicates that
 17  >> you coded out to the balcony at 1400 hours, 36 minutes and that you
 18  >> later coded out for the day at 1900 hours, 56 minutes.
 19  
 20  > VILLE
 21  > <br> (Not sure where the line of questioning is going.)
 22  >> Hunh...?
 23  
 24  > CARL
 25  >> Did you leave the door open or not?
 26  
 27  > VILLE
 28  > <br> (Still uncertain.)
 29  >> Um, you can't leave the door open when you leave the building.
 30  
 31  > CARL
 32  > <br> (Looking with an “I told you so” face at Vera and Alan.)
 33  >> The balcony door Ville. Bal. Con. Eee. I don't know how you do it in
 34  >> Sweden.
 35  
 36  > VILLE
 37  >> Finland.
 38  
 39  > CARL
 40  > <br> (Ever polite but so superior.)
 41  >> Finland. Yes. Fine. I don't know how you do it in Finland, but here in
 42  >> America, in California...
 43  
 44  > VERA
 45  > <br> (Cuts off Carl; exasperated. Russian accent.)
 46  >> Carl, he went out for a smoke.
 47  
 48  > CARL
 49  > <br> (Disgusted and suffering the insufferable.)
 50  >> Nicotine is no excuse for a company wide security breach.
 51  
 52  > ALAN
 53  >> Ville, thanks for you time. Would you excuse us for now that Carl has
 54  >> made us aware of the situation?
 55  
 56  > VILLE
 57  > <br> (Now he understands the point of the meeting.)
 58  >> Uh. Ok. Sorry. Sorry sir. It won't happen again. I was concentrating
 59  >> so hard on the Bluetooth frequency hogging bug that I wasn't thinking.
 60  >> The solution just hit me, and I went in to fix it straight away.
 61  
 62  > ALAN
 63  > <br> (Comforting Ville and nodding him out of the room.)
 64  >> Yes, yes. Good work yesterday Ville. I saw the fix sheet. Thank you.
 65  >> We'll discuss it later.
 66   
 67  Ville shuffles out of the room. Alan, posture erect and alert, moves
 68  his clear eyes carefully from Carl to Vera and back, and breathes in
 69  to speak.
 70  
 71  > VERA
 72  > <br> (Before Alan can say a word. Voice raised.)
 73  >> Jesus Carl! You can NOT fire him. It was a cigarette. Dammit. Didn't
 74  >> you hear? He fixed the Bluetooth frequency hogging bug. We've been
 75  >> trying to fix that bug for months. You finally get me a programmer who
 76  >> can code his way out of a corner. You bring him over from fucking
 77  >> Finland, a zillion miles away. He has been here three weeks and he
 78  >> fixes a major bug. Our MOST MAJOR bug.
 79  
 80  > CARL
 81  > <br> (Right back in Vera's face; voice ascends in pitch.)
 82  >> Maybe you don't remember 9-11? We are a nationwide logistical systems
 83  >> company. We are responsible for the effective transporation and
 84  >> delivery of two-third's of the goods coming out of southern
 85  >> California's ports. We have state and federal government contracts
 86  >> with MAXIMUM security obligations. We are held to the highest
 87  >> standards. The American people are counting on us...
 88  
 89  > ALAN
 90  > <br> (Conciliatory; mediating.)
 91  >> Vera. Carl. Hold up.1 Back down a bit you two. Carl has a valid point.
 92  >> A security breach is a security breach. Personnel presence must be
 93  >> accounted for at all times. Carl, you are head of security protocol
 94  >> enforcement for this company. Firing Ville is your prerogative, but is
 95  >> it necessary to go that far? It took a lot for us to get Ville here.
 96  >> He's young, but he's good, and he will be very hard to replace.
 97  
 98  > CARL
 99  > <br> (Nods forcefully.)
100  >> Absolutely sir. No exceptions allowed.
101  
102  > VERA
103  > <br> (Shakes her head in disgust.)