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DARK SCREEN SUPERTITLE MONTAGE City sounds are audible behind the dark screen. EXT. BIG CITY STREET - BUSINESS DISTRICT A SURVEILLANCE CAMERA records the street. As does another. A PARKING LADY, wearing a blue uniform, walks from car to car. She holds CHALK and MARKS a tire on each car. Trailing about a hundred feet behind her is CYRUS (CY) ATRMES. He is 75, and wears a three-piece white suit. Charismatic with semi-wild eyes. White hair is trimmed shorter than the eyes would like. He carries a folded PAPER BAG (covering an unopened BOTTLE) and a RAG. He WIPES OFF chalk from the tires, car to car. The Parking Lady sees him and gets upset. She approaches. PARKING LADY What're you doing, sir? CY I'm wiping chalk off the tires. PARKING LADY I put chalk on the tires so later I can see who violated the time limit. CY That's correct. PARKING LADY I know that's correct, sir. Tell me why you're breaking the law. CY That's where I disagree, dear. The parking program's been privatized. The fines you write are paid to a contractor. A friend of the mayor. Cy holds up his dirty rag with a weak smile. CY This is pseudo civil disobedience. I'm embarrassed as anyone. (beat) I'll be off soon. (beaming) It's a big day at the office.

The Parking Lady lightens up a touch. PARKING LADY Office, huh. What's in the bag? CY Sherry. Hair of the poodle. (beat) My daughter wrote a letter that's been ruining my using. I'm old, she should worry about that. Anyway, the gig's almost up. Here. Cy offers the bag/bottle to her. CY It's unopened. My gift to you. PARKING LADY So I should forget I saw you. CY I hope not! She glances at a surveillance camera, declines the bottle. DARK SCREEN CY'S VOICE Let there be light. Again. INT. MODERN LAW FIRM OFFICE, AFTERNOON VIEW from CAMCORDER, dark to light, as LENS removed. Cy is video-recording within the OFFICE of a plush law firm. Cy SITS down, in camera's view, next to M. ANDREW (ANDREW) SYKES, who is also wearing a suit (black). Andrew is 38, non-threateningly handsome. He has kind eyes; brown and gray hair a bit long for a professional. Both are lawyers. Andrew is abashed by Cy, but complies with the video exercise. CY (to camera) Greetings, watchers, to the Privacy Lawyers' Blog. With Cy Atrmes, that's me, and (points) M. Andrew Sykes. We resume our multimedia montage about our case Drake et al versus Avvent Health Systems. Aka "Good versus Evil Inc." Today's the day. The Court decides whether to certify us as a class action. Cy approaches the camera, and LIFTS IT. He films the DOOR of the room. It is BLOCKED by YELLOW "DO NOT CROSS" TAPE. CY'S VOICE

We're not to be disturbed, until the Court's website posts the decision. A MAN, a RECEPTIONIST, appears in view outside the door. RECEPTIONIST (cautious, apologetic) Cy, I'm sorry to bother you. But the mayor's on the phone. CY'S VOICE (in disbelief) I just told you no calls, and you pass me a call that's a joke?! RECEPTIONIST The caller ID's from City Hall and I recognize his voice. It's no joke. CY'S VOICE Tell him I said it is. DARK SCREEN Poof. CY'S VOICE

Sound of a paper stack landing on a desk. INT. LAW OFFICE, AFTERNOON Cy stands across the desk where STEVEN, another lawyer, 62, is seated. Steven is silver-haired, affable and phony. Steven eyes the thirty-page stack Cy tossed on the desk. CY Before, in our Avvent case, we had three plaintiffs seeking twelve hundred bucks. Now, it's 60,000 and 23 million. JUDGE WALLACE certified the class. STEVEN Wow, Cy. That's phenomenal news. CY I bet you didn't think I had it in me. Doing something like this. And doing it to Avvent. STEVEN You could always be larger than life, Cy. A guy just gets older than life at some point. Most lawyers retire. CY

Clearly I was right not to. STEVEN Dollar-wise, sure. But if that's "clearly" the right choice depends on the person, and-CY -- Clearly to you. And what about our man, M. Andrew-- he of the never-ending potential? Six-Figure Sykes? STEVEN I stand corrected. CY I tell you what, Steven. That kid'll go in the belly of the beast and light a bonfire. He wants what I do, and more. STEVEN He'll want a raise now. Compliment him freely. It's free. CY Or we could give him a dang raise. Some employers do that for good work. Some partners are happy for a colleague when good things happen. Say when he welcomes a new child. Even if he's 61. They don't call his daughter a trophy tot. And if his wife gets breast cancer, they say "Are you all right?" They don't say here's a new benefits policy. Christ, up shit come in action? STEVEN Cy. That's fifteen years of pent you just dumped on me. Did you to tell me about the class Or to tell me I'm an asshole?

CY I tell you that all the time. (parental) Without the swearing. You only listen when I matter. Steven holds up his hand, in a conciliatory gesture. STEVEN Think I don't notice you and Andrew? You've leaving me in the dust here. Genome privacy? Cy points to his head. CY

New tricks. Steven smiles to hide his annoyance. DARK SCREEN WENDY'S VOICE Is that little grin permanent? INT. SUBURBAN HOME BATHROOM - EARLY EVENING WENDY SYKES, putting on makeup, looks out of the corner of her eye at Andrew, standing in the doorway. He's ecstatic, but suppressing it to deal with his wife's irritation. They're both in formal wear. Wendy, 27, is noticeably younger than Andrew, petite and cute, with kinked brown hair and thick eyebrows. ANDREW I wish, but the world's too bleak. (beat) Not ours. WENDY I'll be ready in a minute, if that's why you're bugging me. Andrew has a smartphone in his hand, shows her it. ANDREW No. I put an app on your smartphone. Cy told me about it. WENDY Ever get annoyed with the old dog's new tricks? I know I do. Andrew, undeterred, shows her the phone. ANDREW He's actually helpful. The app detects this new kind of spyware that's on millions of phones. Your phone's infected. The spyware collects keystrokes. Every word you've ever typed, and your name, is being sent to a big data center. WENDY Big brother would be bored reading everything I write. ANDREW Big brother doesn't do boring. His algorithms dig your dirt. Then it's sold or sent to government cronies-WENDY

-- You're a drag. You know that? When we're at your party, I need a signal if you start talking like an ass. How about I pull on my ear? ANDREW Point to your ass. DARK SCREEN A radio turns on; a song plays. INT. CAR, DUSK, A TOYOTA DRIVING DOWN HIGHWAY Andrew is driving, radio plays, Wendy is in the passenger seat. Their daughter Lily, 4, is in back, holding balloons. LILY Will the chili have meat in it? ANDREW Some will have meat, some won't. We'll tell you which, bud. WENDY (to Lily) When you're at the party, please don't talk about meat being gross. Some people like meat, that makes them sad. And if you see gelatin, don't tell kids it's made of cow bones. ANDREW They should eat cow bones without knowing. DARK SCREEN YOUNG MAN'S VOICE (filled with admiration) How do you beat these big corporations? INT. LAW FIRM LOBBY - NIGHT A swank party. Cy sits next to Andrew, as a YOUNG MAN IN SUIT, a junior attorney, gushes and sucks up to Cy. A pretty TEENAGE GIRL, 15, video-records the discussion with a camcorder. Cy, COCKTAIL in hand, soaks up the attention. CY First, know who you're dealing with. These people transcend corporations. They are BizGov. A small group of powerful careerists who split their time working big business and big government. They wear one hat then the other. Their

only ethic is money. Their only consistency is money. They will not stop consuming of their own will. Wendy, at the end of the table and bored, watches Andrew. CY (to Teenage Girl) JOSIE- speech check? JOSIE No slurring. Yay for you. DARK SCREEN STEVEN'S VOICE Andrew, can we talk for a second? INT. LAW FIRM LOBBY - NIGHT Steven has Andrew cornered at the party. STEVEN Huge class. You deserve two parties. ANDREW Thanks, Steven. STEVEN I spoke with Cy about maybe getting you a raise. But that didn't go far. ANDREW I'm sure you did your best. STEVEN ...I'm worried about Cy. I know juries love him. And he's the face of your class action, the little ads with the old dog learning new tricks. But I'll be blunt. Cy doesn't know what the hell he's doing, and you do. ANDREW He says you don't know what he's doing. STEVEN Don't get duped. Cy's mister chummy, but he's alone in a hole. He talks about Avvent Health like they're some ... leviathan. Like they're planning a genocide. ANDREW There's no evidence of that.

STEVEN See, you're a voice of reason. ANDREW Avvent's a medical corporation. They couldn't profit from genocide. But they'll sell genetic data to those who do, like defense contractors. STEVEN (disbelief) Christ. They won't use it for that. They call it "defense" for a reason. ANDREW Yes they do. STEVEN Listen. (beat) A reliable little bird told me Avvent is worried about the class decision. They'd settle at $12 million. But Cy's not interested. That's nuts. He listens to you. Talk sense to him. ANDREW Money's not my thing. You'd have to talk directly to Cy about that. STEVEN I'll talk to you. I'm head partner. Andrew looks over at Lily, and POINTS. ANDREW I'm the father of that girl. I don't want any settlement that hurts her interests. I want Avvent's genome project shut down. STEVEN (astounded) Avvent won't agree to shut down a billion-dollar project backed by the federal government. A settlement has compromise. That's no compromise. ANDREW Sure it is. I want more. I want Avvent dissolved. Them and the federal government and every other institution that handles over a billion dollars. A huge institution draws sociopaths like a bloating corpse draws vultures. STEVEN

You're crazier than Cy. ANDREW It's the world that's crazy. He and I look radical because we talk rationally. Cy, clearly drunk, approaches the two men. CY (to Steven) That's my bad boy. Get your own. DARK SCREEN WENDY'S VOICE (upset) You choose to stay there. INT. CAR - NIGHT Wendy is driving, talking on her phone, animated. the back, asleep. Andrew is not there. WENDY You're not his babysitter... Oh, so he's your master. That'll go well. DARK SCREEN JOSIE'S VOICE I don't see the point of my dad's stupid video blog. CAMCORDER RECORDING Josie video-records Andrew, seated alone at table. He doesn't want to be recorded... but his boss Cy wants her recording. ANDREW Your dad cares about bad things big entities do. JOSIE'S VOICE You said "titties." (beat) He cares about comparing himself to big companies. They're so wrong, he's so right. Know what he really loves? (annoyed) Coaching my debate team. He's way into that. ANDREW That's not bad, is it? JOSIE'S VOICE It'd be fine if I didn't loath debate. Lily is in

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ANDREW He says you're superb at debate. JOSIE'S VOICE I have to be. (beat) I'm going to record everything stupid he does. So viewers can know the whole story. Josie moves the camera away from Andrew, are fewer party-goers at this late hour. He is 50 feet away, across the lobby and visibly drunk, talking to others, acting across the room. There Her camera locates Cy. out of earshot. He is animated and silly.

ANDREW'S VOICE Please... don't record him. That'll embarrass him. And it won't get on the blog. He'll edit it out. JOSIE'S VOICE I know. But that'll take work. It'll annoy him. (beat) It's sweet how you stick up for my dad. You do that when the camera's off too. Josie moves the camera back on Andrew. He's even more uncomfortable than before. JOSIE'S VOICE You're sweet, aren't you? I see how you look at your daughter. She's your little turkey. Her mom's cuddle bug. Andrew says nothing. JOSIE'S VOICE I bet you'd crawl through hell before you'd forget her one second.(sighs) Not the case for all of us. ANDREW Your father doesn't forget you. (motions in reference to room) This is all for you. It's just... very imperfect. JOSIE'S VOICE M. Andrew. What's the M. for? Michael. ANDREW

JOSIE'S VOICE Your name is wonderful. Why don't you use that? ANDREW Middle school. Michael Sykes became

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"Psycho Michael." JOSIE'S VOICE Kids can be savage. Andrew smiles at her precociousness. ANDREW So could I. DARK SCREEN Sound of a CAP being PUT ON a marker. CAMCORDER RECORDING Camcorder (held by Josie) records Cy, who is PASSED OUT, face down on a TABLE. Josie's HAND holds a MARKER, which she SETS down. Next to it is a post-it NOTE which says "Sleeping in your office." She STICKS the note on Cy's HAND. The camera is put on a tripod, a passive-aggressive act; it records a motionless Cy. DARK SCREEN CY'S VOICE (groggy) Dang it. CAMCORDER RECORDING Camcorder records Cy at the table. He lifts his head, stirs awake. He sees the NOTE on his HAND, and READS it. He REMOVES it. CY (shouting to no one particular) Let's keep this party going! Cy STANDS, stumbles to the camera. TAKES IT OFF the TRIPOD. CY'S VOICE (to self, regarding Josie) You left it recording?! That's wasting my battery life away. The view moves, as Cy records his surroundings. He walks out the lobby, down a hall. Most people have left. There are TWO PARTY-GOERS in the hall. A MAN (later known as THREE-CHEESE) talks to a WOMAN. Questionably romantic. Cy interrupts them. CY'S VOICE I am looking for Andrew.

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THREE-CHEESE (being a smart ass) I am drinking and conversing. The Woman LAUGHS quickly, knows she shouldn't, stops. The VIEW stays focused on Three-Cheese for a few seconds, then moves to hall. Then STOPS, TURNS, GOES BACK IN. CY'S VOICE And who are you? Pardon? THREE-CHEESE

CY'S VOICE You. Who are you to make a joke on me? Some nobody assistant to nobody. When you get up in the morning, put on that dumb sweater, put that gel in your hair. Ever wonder, "Why do I bother?" DARK SCREEN Sound of door opening slowly. INT. LILY'S BEDROOM - NEAR MIDNIGHT Andrew, just home from the party, pops his head through the door of Lily's room, and looks inside. She is awake, scared. He walks to her bed, and sits next to her. A huge weight had already been on his mind. Something went very wrong with him. He sets it aside. ANDREW What's wrong, bud? LILY The police are gonna take me to jail. ANDREW Why would they take you to jail? LILY I unbuckled my seat belt when the car drived. Mom didn't see. ANDREW Oh. If the police ever talked to you, they'd see that you're a good kid, you just did one bad thing. They wouldn't take you to jail. If they even thought about it, I can't even say what I'd do to them. The words are too naughty.

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Lily looks at him, interested. ANDREW But I'd blank their blankety blanks. She smiles. DARK SCREEN What?! INT. LIVING ROOM Andrew's on the PHONE. He was sleeping on the COUCH, has abruptly SAT UPRIGHT. God... NEWSCAST ON TV NEWS ANCHOR Cyrus Atrmes' employer, Cambridge Ellis, issued this statement. "Out of respect for the victim and the police investigation, we won't comment about Cy Atrmes' arrest or the event he attended at our law firm last night." DARK SCREEN LOCAL NEWS SHOW on TV. A round-table discussion of journalists. CAUTIOUS JOURNALIST We don't know the full facts-SMARMY JOURNALIST #1 -- We know enough. He's G-U-I-L-T-Y. SMARMY JOURNALIST #2 (righteous voice, gets louder) This guy manages a huge lawsuit, and 60,000 peoples' medical data. He claims Avvent Health can't be trusted. Yet look what he did! And he went to Avvent for emergency treatment! How hypocritical and ironic is that? SMARMY PANELIST #3 Hypocrironic. DARK SCREEN ANDREW ANDREW'S VOICE

He WALKS, in a RUSH, to the TELEVISION. Turns it on.

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The three smarmy journalists LAUGH. WENDY'S VOICE (very concerned) Will you be all right, Andrew? INT. KITCHEN - EARLY MORNING Andrew is seated at his kitchen table, distraught, as Wendy watches sympathetically. He rubs his eyes, opens them wide. ANDREW This is...awful. I just need time to think. (beat) Maybe I should resign. WENDY You should resign?! Why?! ANDREW You've said Cy'd throw me under the bus if something went bad. Turns out he's under. If he wants to pull me down, he could say I agitated him at the party, that's why he went off. Did you? WENDY

ANDREW What do you think? You're right. I shouldn't resign. He may do nothing to me. WENDY At least this has you thinking capable of. You didn't want to before. He was dumping his dud you, and saw you winning. Then him this huge case. He resents what he's hear it cases on you got you.

ANDREW I don't know about that. But there's a short window now before he reacts. WENDY If you quit that job, and quit that filthy case... I know Avvent is evil and all that, and it could be a ton of money. But what's freedom worth? Do it. I'll throw you a party. Me and Lily. DARK SCREEN Sound of raspy breathing. INT. JAIL - DAY

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Cy sits in a jail cell, beaten down, staring blankly. He has a LARGE BANDAGE on his neck. Andrew walks in the corridor and approaches the cell. Cy reacts with disgust, while keeping his eyes on the ground. ANDREW Cy... I resigned. You probably knew that. (beat) I heard the firm's arranging your bail. Cy's eyes remain on the ground. CY (voice is RASPY/INJURED) They've got the bail. It's PR that's taking the arranging. ANDREW ... I'm sorry about what happened. Cy looks up, looks Andrew in the eye. CY "Sorry" doesn't fit the situation. ANDREW I didn't come here to fight. Suddenly, Cy STANDS, in ANGER. CY Fighting's all you do well. Why else come?! He lunges toward Andrew, FINGERNAILS claw through the bars. Cy's SHADOW is eerily-shaped and large, almost unnatural. Andrew quickly retreats from the jail cell caging Cy. ANDREW (doubting reality) This isn't real-DARK SCREEN -- LOUD BUZZ sound. INT. LAW FIRM CONFERENCE ROOM A RECEPTIONIST picks up the PHONE that buzzed. Andrew sits in a waiting area near her. RECEPTIONIST Yes? Okay. (to Andrew) He'll be down. INT. LAW FIRM CONFERENCE ROOM

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An ATTORNEY sits across the table from Andrew. ATTORNEY I saw your resume, looked you up. All's good. (beat) So you worked at Cambridge with Cy Atrmes. Andrew shows discomfort. Yes. ANDREW

ATTORNEY (indifferently) It's horrible what happened with Cy. ... So why'd you quit? Politics. ANDREW

ATTORNEY Let me guess. It was a good gig 'til your old boss crashed and burned, and your new boss-to-be Steven Weyers is a flaming a-hole? ANDREW I can't trash Steven's reputation. ATTORNEY Why not. He's trashing yours. Assuming you don't grope brownie scouts. (beat) I used Cy once to mediate this awful family business dispute. These folks had had a six-year pissing match. (smiles) Morning of mediation, Cy struts in, wearing this bright green suit! Cy takes a long look at all of us, standing there in his green suit, and he says "Listen up, clowns. I've read your record. You all think this case is about complex injustices. I think it's about remedial math." Bam. The truth, to the bone. We couldn't hide after that. Cy worked us a huge deal in an hour. I'll never forget him walking in, in that green suit. The Attorney smiles, shakes his head. ATTORNEY You ever see him wear a green suit? No. ANDREW ATTORNEY

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Well, I bet you saw something. And I bet he did. What do you think about employment law? DARK SCREEN COMEDIAN'S VOICE That's the last time I'll take the fucking train. Except to kill someone. Sound of audience laughter, applause. INT. COMEDY CLUB - NIGHT Cy, neck still bandaged, drinks alone at a small corner table. He pays no mind to the COMEDIAN on STAGE. COMEDIAN (taking note of Cy) Hey, odd-timer. Cy breaks from thought and LOOKS UP at the Comedian. COMEDIAN You get two-for-one rails, I get an audience. Can ya clap? CY I don't like your swearing. The Comedian smirks, and looks at the audience. COMEDIAN He doesn't like swearing. So he goes to a fucking comedy club. Some in the audience CHUCKLE. Abruptly, Cy STANDS and walks up to the STAGE, climbs on it. Faces the Comedian, who's stunned. A tense silence builds. Cy then drops to his KNEES and PRAYS. DARK SCREEN Typing sound. INT. HOME-OFFICE ROOM, LATE NIGHT Andrew is at a COMPUTER, typing a legal-captioned document. He stops. Has a thought. On the SCREEN, Andrew's CURSOR minimizes the window. He then opens the WEB BROWSER. Types in a web address, a BLOG pops up. It's titled "Privacy Lawyers' Blog." The screen is mostly BLACK.

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At page's CENTER is a YOUTUBE VIDEO BOX with a DARK SCREEN. Andrew CLICKS. The video MAXIMIZES to FULL SCREEN. A VIDEO CLIP loads and plays. It's a (real) video from an Errol Morris documentary-- an interview of Sondra London, girlfriend of serial killer Danny Rolling. SONDRA LONDON The crimes Danny committed are hideous. They're almost beyond belief. When police examined the crime scenes that were left in Gainesville,there were many many statements made at that time that this killer is trying to leave a message. Upon asking Danny Rolling what was the message, the only thing he could come up with was that evil is real. That evil walks this earth like a natural man. Andrew sits back, rattled by what Cy did with the blog. EXT. YARD OF HOUSE --EARLY MORNING Lily stands in the yard, by the road. She looks at a SOCCER BALL she had accidentally kicked in the road. Cy approaches. She watches, scared, as Cy lifts the ball. CY I'll get that. ...Looks like your daddy's gone. Remember me? Lily doesn't answer. Cy acknowledges her fear. CY I'll roll it back. Cy ROLLS the ball, very slowly. It slowly reaches Lily. She picks it up, keeping her eyes on Cy, now down the street. EXT. PARK PLAYGROUND, MORNING Cy is seated on a PARK BENCH, watching CHILDREN play. A small group of PARENTS gather. Shoot looks at him. A white WOMAN with frizzy brown hair guides her SON, 4, to the group of parents. She then approaches Cy. BRUNETTE WOMAN Sir, can I ask what you're doing? Thinking. CY

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BRUNETTE WOMAN We're uncomfortable you're watching the children. Do you know any of these kids? No. CY

BRUNETTE WOMAN Would you please leave? No, ma'am. CY

A CAR arrives at the PARK. A LARGE MAN, well-built and imposing, gets out of the car. The parents POINT him toward Cy. He approaches and stands next to the BRUNETTE WOMAN. LARGE MAN We need you to leave, buddy. Now. Cy sits still. Someone from the crowd of parents yells. VOICE FROM PARENT CROWD Leave, pervert! An AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN approaches Cy, along with her child, 6, a cute SON with dimples. She holds her son's hand and sits on the bench next to Cy. She positions her body and attention toward Cy, as if the accusers don't exist. AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN Are you all right? CY No. My daughter died. She was 15. (looks up) We had a car wreck. I was drunk. AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN I'm very sorry. LARGE MAN (intervening) The police are on their way. Cy and the Woman pay no mind. CY I was at this park with Josie, when she was five. She was on that swing. Cy points to the swing, about fifty feet away. CY A man came up to me. Said "I'm Tim. That kid over there's my son Nate. He's in Josie's preschool class." Then he

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grinned, he said "I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, it's a 'Big Secret.' Nate says he's going to marry Josie. They're going to live in this teal house down the road. He's got it all worked out." Cy leans back, smiling. The Large Man stands idly. CY After that, I'd ask Josie what she thought of Nate. She wasn't having it. But I've always been pulling for him. (beat) Now I've told the secret. (to Woman's dimpled Son) How are you with secrets? The Son shyly grabs his mom's leg, hangs head. AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN Not so good. Good. CY

Two POLICE CARS arrive. Cy and Woman see them, but remain seated. Police officers start briskly walking over. CY The woman at the hospital who told me. She was kind. Like you. I tried to calm down. Asked her if I could see Josie's face one last time. She said ... (crying) "No, no, no, no." Cy looks deeply into the Woman's eyes. CY Was that because how Josie looked was... horrid? Yes. INT. COURTROOM - DAY Cy STANDS at his table in the Courtroom, across the BENCH at the head of the room where JUDGE RODNEY WALLACE sits. Judge Wallace is an African American man, about 50, with slender features, fashionable horn-rimmed glasses, wearing a black robe. Judge Wallace looks down at Cy from the raised bench. Next to Cy is his (unnamed) LAWYER. The Courtroom is packed with spectators. JUDGE WALLACE Mr. Atrmes, I accept the plea bargain. Many people will criticize me, and the AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN