The set is a single nice hotel room. King bed, desk, couch, table, window with the lights of a city we can't see shining through a curtain. It's night.
A man's suitcase is neatly placed on the luggage rack.
A man is alone in the room. He is in his mid-30s and only owns one color of shirt. His name is ZACH.
There is a TV somewhere in the room, maybe on the 4th wall. It’s playing John Podesta’s speech from the Javits Center.
TV (JOHN PODESTA)
“...it's been a long night and it's been a long campaign but I can say, we can wait a little longer, can't we?
It’s 2am on November 9, 2016, at least in New York City.
TV (JOHN PODESTA)
They're still counting votes and every vote should count. Several states are too close to call, so we're not going to have anything more to say tonight. So, listen. Listen to me. Everybody should head home, you should--”
Zach turns the TV off and maybe uses his fancy watch to turn on some music instead. He crosses to the mini bar and takes out a bottle of whiskey. He opens it and smells it. Ambrosia. He crosses to the two tumbler glasses and bottles of water that are in every hotel room. He turns one upright and pours the whiskey into it. He swirls it around the glass. He places it deliberately on the table as the door to the room slams open.
A woman in her mid-30s enters. She’s red-eye fashionable, whatever’s at the midpoint between a pantsuit and pajamas. She’s dragging a rolling suitcase, and carrying a coat, a laptop bag, and a bottle of red wine. Her name is Natalie but everyone calls her NAT.
Zach, without acknowledging her, opens one of the bottles of water and takes a long drink.
Nat drops the wine on the table and her bags on the floor. She enters the wifi password and stares at her phone for a beat.
NAT
Fuck.
She checks her voicemail as she crosses to the remaining glass and picks it up.
Zach crosses to the window and peers out.
Nat turns to the desk to grab the wine bottle but--
VOICE MAIL
Hi, I’m calling from the Fresh Start adoption agency. We have reviewed your application and regret to inform you that--
--rage overcomes her and she hurls the glass across the room where it shatters against the wall. She hangs up the phone.
If music is playing, it stops. Zach picks up a bluetooth headset from the nightstand and types something into his laptop.
Natalie's phone RINGS. She answers, surprised.
NAT
Zach?
PHONE
Please enter your passphrase.
NAT
Ugh...what...?
PHONE
I’m sorry, that is not a valid--
Natalie rolls her eyes and enters a lengthy passphrase. Zach crosses back to the window.
PHONE
Thank you. Hold please.
Nat is digging in her bag for an ear piece. She connects it and drops the phone into her pocket.
NOTE: Zach is in a hotel room in New York, but Nat is in London, where it is just after 7 am. The actors move about the shared space as though they are alone.
Ideally, this will be staged in such a way that the audience will forget they are not in the same room until the moment it will hurt most to be reminded.
ZACH
Hey, Nat.
NAT
Zach, is everything okay? We weren’t supposed to talk until--
ZACH
I know, but I’m standing here watching everyone pour out of the Javits and I just...thought you might be awake.
NAT
The whole world is awake. Or having the same nightmare. You're in New York?
ZACH
Yeah, the New York office needed an extra set of eyes on a targeted ad algorithm. Where are you?
NAT
Just landed at Heathrow. Unless the plane crashed and this is hell.
ZACH
I thought you might be in Paris.
NAT
Later this week, for the anniversary.
ZACH
Well, I'm glad you're somewhere safe for now.
NAT
Everywhere is safe until the moment it isn't.
ZACH
(chuckles bitterly)
Not the night to argue with that.
NAT
Sorry we can't see each other. My camera is still broken.
ZACH
I assumed as much.
NAT
It's just a tiny hairline crack but apparently it's right over the front facing lens so everything's like 3/4 blurry.
ZACH
And you forget about it until you actually need it.
NAT
I've never really been the selfie type.
ZACH
It's fine, I wanted to test this new encryption software anyway. And it doesn't support video yet.
NAT
I hope it's good because using a passphrase containing "The 5th of November" takes on a whole different meaning in London.
ZACH
Well, we won't be using that one again, regardless, now that you've actually said it on the call.
NAT
I'm just helping with your beta test. "Subject 342 mentioned a portion of her passphrase in the call. Will update on whether authorities arrive."
ZACH
You know, I take YOUR work seriously.
NAT
So do I.
ZACH
Nothing else though.
Nat glances at the broken glass.
NAT
What else is there?
She turns and grabs the wine.
NAT
Speaking of which, I read an odd piece of mail on the plane.
She digs into her bag, finds a corkscrew and begins to open the bottle.
ZACH
You still get actual mail?
NAT
All journalists do. It's one of the only truly anonymous forms of communication left as long as you don't lick the envelope.
ZACH
It wasn't tax returns was it? Because better late than--
NAT
Someone sent me the article I interviewed you for at Stanford.
She looks about for a second glass then just takes a sip from the bottle.
ZACH
Who did?
NAT
I have no idea.
Zach stands and crosses to the table.
ZACH
Why?
NAT
Excellent question.
Nat crosses to the table.
ZACH
What did they say?
NAT
It was just the article and a typed note saying "he's done it."
ZACH
They mailed this to you?
NAT
To the office.
Zach picks up the whiskey.
ZACH
A decade old newspaper clipping?
NAT
It was a copy.
ZACH
Well. That's...very strange.
Nat sips her drink. Zach does not.
NAT
For a number of reasons.
ZACH
I mean, why not just email you?
NAT
Asks the man testing encrypted call software?
ZACH
Is that why you wanted that date as your passphrase?
NAT
I...had forgotten that actually.
ZACH
No, you hadn't.
NAT
Well, it's not the most important thing that happened that day.
ZACH
I guess that all depends on why someone's sending it to you.
Beat.
NAT
So what have you done?
ZACH
Oh, I don't know. What was that article about again?
NAT
You remember the date it was published but not what it was about?
ZACH
I remember nothing about the article. Just that I couldn't wait for it to be published so that I'd have an excuse to see you again.
NAT
You brought me chocolate cake.
ZACH
It would have been wine but--
NAT
It was "something we could share."
ZACH
Only time that ever worked.
NAT
Really?
ZACH
Maybe the only time I tried.
NAT
The article was about the moral complexities of establishing a website that would allow women to anonymously report sexual assaults on campus and whether the accused had a right to privacy as well as the victims. You were arguing that true privacy was an impossibility and that the only level playing field for honest accusation was one in which no one was anonymous and everyone was held accountable.
ZACH
I really was ahead of my time.
NAT
I suppose you did foresee the coming of the cyber-mob.
ZACH
I still can't believe you slept with a guy who said that. That's the real news item. Liberal Media Maven Protected the Patriarchy!
NAT
I was perfectly objective.
ZACH
You thought I was cute.
NAT
But I didn't do anything about it.
ZACH
Until I was no longer your source.
NAT
Then you became the source of all my problems.
ZACH
That took a little while, at least.
NAT
Did it?