Crude and Feckless: September 2009

INT. AN OFFICE IN LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK. WITH A VIEW OF THE WORLD TRADE CENTER THROUGH IT’S WINDOWS.
-

We see a shot of a clock on a desk, it clicks over to 8:46am. The camera pans back to show a young man at his computer entering information into an excel program. This is Kevin McDonald, he is 23 years old.
-

Kevin enters information into the excel spreadsheet, he checks his paper work and enters more information on his keyboard. He couldn’t look more bored.
-

GERALD

Hey, did you see this shit? Some asshole ran his plane into the World Trade Center.
-

Kevin looks up from his work and over at Gerald who has CNN.com open on his browser. Kevin looks from Gerald to the windows that run along the entire side of the building that faces the World Trade Center. From the angle that Kevin can see the buildings they are almost in line with each other. The buildings are many miles away but he can already see smoke billowing up.
-

KEVIN

How the hell does someone run into the World Trade Center? It’s a perfectly clear day.
-

MARIA

Probably fell asleep or something.
-

KEVIN

I remember one time I read about someone crashing a B-52 bomber into the Empire State Building, but that was in thick fog.
-

GERALD

This website is saying he was off course.
-

Kevin picks up the phone and dials.

KEVIN

Hey Jess, take a look out your window...
-

INT. JESSICA’S OFFICE, FURTHER OUT ON LONG ISLAND BUT ALSO WITH A PICTURESQUE VIEW OF NEW YORK CITY AND THE WTC.
-

Jessica turns and looks out her window with the phone to her ear.
-

JESSICA

Is that smoke coming off the World Trade Center?
-

KEVIN

Yeah, someone ran their Cessna into one of the towers.
-

JESSICA

How does someone run their plane into a building?
-

KEVIN

Maybe they passed out or something.
-

JESSICA

Okay, gotta go, busy. Love you.
-

KEVIN

Love you.
-

Kevin looks at the smoke coming off the World Trade Center one more time and then goes back to work. After a while he looks up again and as he is looking at the smoke he sees a huge flameball near the top of the building. The flameball only lasts for a split second. Kevin has unknowingly just witnessed the second plane crash into the World Trade Center.
-

KEVIN

Wow, the building’s actually on fire, it’s not just smoke.
-

Maria gets up from her desk and walks over to where Kevin sits to look out the window. There is no longer any fire that she can see.
-

MARIA

You’re crazy. There’s no fire.
-

KEVIN

It was only for a second, maybe it was the sun reflecting off the glass or something.
-

Gerald looks up from his computer.
-

GERALD

Another plane just hit the World Trade Center.
-

The office of approximately 80 people has quite a different feel to it already. There is a quite buzz going on.
-

MARIA

How do two planes hit the twin towers by mistake?
-

KEVIN

One could be a mistake...we’re under attack.
-

Kevin’s phone rings, it’s Jessica on the phone.
-

JESSICA

Another plane hit the buildings.
-

KEVIN

Yeah, I know. Listen, we’re being attacked.
-

JESSICA

What do you mean we’re being attacked?
-

KEVIN

This is no mistake. They’re intentionally running these planes into the towers.
-

JESSICA

Who?
-

KEVIN

I don’t know, it must be a terrorist attack.
-

JESSICA

What did we do?
-

KEVIN

They’re fucking terrorists. They don’t need a reason. I’ll call you back.
-

Kevin gets up and goes over to Gerald’s desk. Gerald has CNN.com open on his browser and is surfing through various news stories.
-

GERALD

They’re saying that there are two more planes headed towards Los Angeles.
-

KEVIN

Where are they now?
-

GERALD

It doesn’t say. It says they left from Boston.
-

RAJ

This says one just hit the Pentagon.
-

KEVIN

You’ve got to be shitting me.
-

Kevin sits down and stares out the window. All around him people are walking to other peoples desks to talk with each other.
-

MARIA

One just went down in Pennsylvania.
-

Kevin’s phone rings.
-

JESSICA

Why is this happening?
-

KEVIN

I don’t know baby. I love you.
-

A man who is standing near the windows turns and yells towards the office.
-

OFFICE WORKER

THE BUILDINGS ARE FALLING! THE BUILDINGS ARE FALLING!
-

Kevin sets down the phone and joins all the other office workers who are running towards the windows. Together they all watch as one of the buildings falls. From the distance they are from the buildings and from all the dust and smoke in the air, it appears as though the building has fallen sideways.
-

Kevin walks back to the phone. He looks a bit paler than he looked before.
-

KEVIN

Jess, I’m going home for the day. You should tell Steve that you’re going home too.
-

JESSICA

Alright, I’ll leave as soon as I can.
-

Kevin hangs up the phone and Peter, Kevin’s boss calls him into the warehouse.
-

KEVIN

I’m going home Peter.
-

PETER

I know there is a lot going on right now and everyone is really emotional, but we should really get back to work.
-

KEVIN

What?
-