The Abyss Page #5

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BUD:

We're being asked to cooperate in a matter of

national security. Now you know exactly as much

as I do. So just get your gear off and get up to

control. There's some kind of briefing in ten

minutes.

CUT TO:

INT. DEEPCORE/COMMAND MODULE 25

The whole rig crew is somehow jammed into the room for the video briefing.

DeMarco is on the main monitor, with his aides and Kirkhill visible b.g.

DEMARCO:

At 09:
22 local time this morning, an American

nuclear submarine, the USS Montana, with 156 men

aboard, went down 22 miles from here. There has

been no contact with the sub since then. The

cause of the incident is not known.

PAN AROUND the reactions of the various drill crew members... shocked,

hushed, curious.

DEMARCO:

Your company has authorized the Navy's use of

this facility for a rescue operation. The code

name is Operation Salvor.

ONE NIGHT:

You want us to search for the sub?

DEMARCO:

No. We know where it is. But she's in 2000 feet

of water and we can't reach her. We need divers

to enter the sub and search for survivors, if

any.

Bud's scowl has been deepening since DeMarco started to talk.

BUD:

Don't you guys have your own stuff for this type

of thing?

DEMARCO:

By the time we get our rescue submersible here

the storm front will be right on us. But you

can get your rig in under the storm and be on-

site in fifteen hours. That makes you our best

option right now.

Hippy, born suspicious and recently graduated to paranoid, leans forward...

HIPPY:

Why should we risk our butts on a job like this?

KIRKHILL:

I have been authorized to offer you all special-

duty bonuses equivalent to three times normal

dive pay.

CATFISH:

Hell, for triple time I'd crawl through razor

blades and shower off with lime juice.

FINLER:

I'm here to tell ya', you could set me on fire

and call me names.

BUD:

Look, I don't know what kind of a deal you guys

worked out with the company, but my people are

not qualified for this... they're oil workers.

DEMARCO:

A four-man SEAL team will transfer down to you

to supervise the operation.

BUD:

You can send down whoever you like, but I'm the

toolpusher on this rig, and when it comes to the

safety of these people, there's me... then

there's God. Understand? If things get dicey,

I'm pulling the plug.

KIRKHILL:

I think we're all on the same wavelength,

Brigman. Now let's get the wellhead uncoupled,

shall we?

CUT TO:

INT. DEEPCORE/COMMAND MODULE AND CORRIDOR 26

Bud stands beside the hatchway as the others file out toward their tasks.

They comment gravely as they pass...

JAMMER:

When Lindsey finds out about this, it's not

gonna be a pretty sight.

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