The Abyss Page #4

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Hippy jumps, slops his coffee. Bud strides in. Not calm.

BUD:

Son of a b*tch.

He kicks a chair out of the way and slams his palm down on a switch marked

DIVER RECALL. A SIREN, blasting through the water from a big hydrophone

loudspeaker.

BUD:

All divers. Drop what you're doing. Everybody

out of the pool.

EXT. DEEPCORE/CHRISTMAS TREE A22

Flatbed's pilot, LISA 'ONE NIGHT' STANDING, can be clearly seen behind a

bubble canopy. She is a no-nonsense lady who holds her own in the mostly

male environment by being one of the best submersible drivers in the

business. She controls a hydraulic manipulator arm, assisting the diver,

ARLISS 'SONNY' DAWSON, in his work. Little Geek hovers around them like a

tiny helicopter. One Night moves the Flatbed arm to Sonny and hands him the

pipe.

ONE NIGHT:

Here you go, hon'.

SONNY:

Just in time, sugar.

They react to Bud's recall, looking toward him up in the control module.

ONE NIGHT:

Dammit, we just got out here.

SONNY:

There was a time when I would have asked why.

One Night makes a grab for his butt with the manipulator claw, which he

narrowly avoids.

CUT TO:

EXT. DEEPCORE/UNDER SUB-BAY23

Flatbed moves underneath the rig, a few feet above the seafloor, with Sonny

riding on its top deck. It passes under a lit opening and rises toward the

surface of the water in the chamber above. Little Geek follows like an

obedient dog.

INT. SUB-BAY/MOONPOOL 24

The opening is called the moonpool, and Deepcore's submersibles are launched

through it. From inside the sub-bay it looks just like a swimming pool.

Flatbed surfaces, nearly filling it. The chamber also contains CAB ONE, a

similar submersible. Jammer, Perry, and some of the other drill-room boys

are helping the divers out of the water. The water at this depth is only

about six degrees above freezing, and these folks are cold and prune-

fingered. Finler pulls off his demand-helmet, revealing a round, boyish

face.

FINLER:

What's goin' on? How come we got recalled?

SONNY:

Hell is I know.

One Night jumps 'ashore' from Flatbed's broad deck and joins them. Catfish

is unzipping his bulky dry-suit.

CATFISH:

Just follow standard procedure, will ya...

flog the dog till somebody tells us what's

happening.

JAMMER:

Hey, Catfish, I'll sell you my October Penthouse

for twenty bucks.

ONE NIGHT:

Save you money, darlin'... the pages are all

stuck together by now.

Bud enters, approaching the group.

JAMMER:

What's goin' on, Boss?

BUD:

Folks, I've just been told to shut down the hole

and prepare to move the rig.

SONNY:

She-hit.

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