Kubrick's Game

  “I don’t know what to say. I’m definitely intrigued. This place is like heaven. Can I let you know once the game is over?”

  “No rush. The offer remains open, and don’t worry, it’s slightly less spooky here than the Overlook.”

  A buzzing sound indicated that a person was pressing the intercom at the front entrance.

  “Who could that be at this hour?” Strauss checked the security camera feed. “It looks like a girl.”

  Shawn looked at the feed.

  It was Desiree. Her shirt was drenched in blood.

  “You know her?” said Strauss.

  “She’s on the team Greenwald has been holding captive.”

  “How would she know to come here?”

  “I don’t know. It could be a trap, but she looks hurt.”

  “You go suss it out, and I’ll stand at the desk by the alarm.”

  Desiree stood outside the glass door, her white tank top torn and covered in more blood than Shawn had realized from the video feed.

  “Shawn!” she cried as he walked toward the door. “Please, you have to let me in.”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “I’m okay. This isn’t my blood. Just let me in!”

  “I want to, but I have to be careful. How did you get here?”

  “I escaped! I overheard them say they confronted you here about the moon footage. I’ll explain everything if you just open the door.”

  Shawn signaled to Strauss, who pushed a button. The door buzzed, and Shawn opened it for her.

  As soon as he did, Desiree charged forward and knocked Shawn to the ground. She held the door open as six cloaked men in masks stormed into the archive.

  Desiree fell to her knees, sobbing. “I’m sorry, Shawn! They were going to kill us if I didn’t.”

  Strauss had set off the alarm, but by the time the guards reached the entrance, the cloaks were already holding guns to the heads of Desiree, Shawn, and Strauss.

  The four security guards drew their guns.

  One of the cloaks aimed and shot Strauss in the left thigh.

  He wailed in pain.

  The cloak then pointed his gun at Strauss’s head. “Lower your weapons, and nobody else needs to get hurt tonight.”

  Terrified by the blood spurting out of Strauss’s leg, the guards put their weapons on the floor.

  Several cloaks guided them away and handcuffed them to a pipe in the bathroom.

  “Now,” said the cloak who sounded like Greenwald, “I think we can proceed with our business. Mr. Strauss, your leg requires immediate medical attention or else you’re going to lose it, so I wouldn’t waste time with any games. We’re going to the vault and you’re going to give me what I want.”

  The group piled into the elevator and headed downstairs.

  The cloaks pushed them toward the vault, guns still pointed at their heads, Strauss grunting with each agonizing step. When they reached the vault, the safes were in plain view behind glass walls six inches thick.

  Strauss punched the code on the vault door, scanned his thumb print, entered, and came out with the Apollo 11 moon landing film.

  Greenwald took the canister, opened it, and held the film to the light to inspect the footage.

  “I thought you didn’t care about the moon landing footage,” said Shawn. “Mascaro said we were off track looking for it. Why are you suddenly willing to go these lengths for it?”

  “Mascaro told you exactly what he was instructed to tell you, to keep you from the prize when you were so close.” Greenwald continued examining the film. “This seems to be authentic. Now bring us the other reel.”

  “Other reel? What... what other reel?” Strauss muttered in terrible pain.

  “You know which reel I am referring to,” said Greenwald. “The more time you waste, the worse you make things for yourself.” He pointed the gun at Shawn.

  “Okay, okay, you win.” Strauss punched a code on a small slot, scanned a card, then punched a second code.

  When it opened, he reached in and grabbed a canister, and handed it to Greenwald.

  Greenwald examined the canister. “This has been opened,” he said angrily. “Kranzler said you were under strict orders not to view this reel until you were told to do so.”

  “I like to start my projects early,” said Strauss.

  “How much did you see?”

  “Enough.”

  “Then I’m afraid this must be the end for you,” said Greenwald. He raised the gun to Strauss’s head and cocked it back.

  “No!” cried Shawn.

  Desiree screamed.

  “Before you pull the trigger,” said Strauss, “you should probably consider the copies I’ve made, which, upon my untimely death, or if the footage is stolen, will be sent to every major news outlet.”

  Greenwald pulled Desiree toward him and raised his gun. “You think this is a game?” he snarled.

  He swung at her head, but Shawn leaped in front of her, bearing the brunt of the impact on his temple. He fell hard to the floor, blood seeping from the open wound.

  “Shawn!” Desiree shouted.

  Greenwald shoved her against the vault wall. “Defy me and everyone pays the price. Throw them all into the vault and take all the footage. We’ll track down the copies and make sure they aren’t seen.”

  “Yes sir,” said the large cloak, and did as instructed.

  Shawn was fading, trying desperately to hold on to consciousness. A loud buzzing sound invaded his ear as he expected to be shoved inside the vault at any moment.

  Instead, he watched as the cloak holding him collapsed to the floor. The cloak nearest Desiree dropped next, followed by each of the others.

  Standing behind them were Danny and Austin, holding up Taser guns.

  “Take that, bitches,” said Danny.

  Greenwald swung and pointed his gun at Danny.

  With his last ounce of energy, Shawn leaped at Greenwald’s arm, knocked the gun out of his hand, and pulled off his mask.

  Danny fired the Taser and hit Greenwald square in the chest, jolting him backward into the vault.

  Danny, Austin, and Desiree moved quickly, dragging the cloaks into the vault and taking their car keys.

  Strauss crawled out, supported by Shawn, holding the film reels.

  “Strauss, tell me how to lock the vault,” said Shawn.

  “C... R... M... 1... 1... 4,” said Strauss, weakly.

  Shawn allowed himself to smile as he pressed the code, and the doors locked.

  Desiree tore off a sleeve on her hoodie and made a makeshift head wrap for Shawn, while Danny and Austin wrapped Strauss’s leg.

  Shawn examined the faces of the cloaks through the glass, but none of them looked familiar. The others, including Mascaro and his men, were still out there.

  “How did you guys get here?” he asked Danny.

  “We were locked in their van. They did this to me.” Danny held up his bandaged hand, revealing his right thumb was missing.

  “They wiped my blood on Desiree’s shirt just to scare you into letting her in, but it also made it possible for me to escape their cuffs. We managed to bust out of the truck and found the security guards tied-up inside. They gave us their Tasers.”

  Danny pulled his thumb out of his front shirt pocket.

  “With any luck, they can reattach it, if we get to the hospital in time,” said Desiree.

  “Come on,” said Austin. “Everything looks secure here.”

  “Not so fast,” said a voice from inside the vault. Greenwald had regained consciousness. “You have to... let me out. Leave the rest to take the blame. I’ll make it worth your while.”

  Shawn approached the glass. “What are you offering?”

  “Name your price,” Greenwald said.

  “Just the truth. Why do you want what’s on these film reels?”

  “Let me out, and I’ll tell you everything.”

  Shawn turned to leave.

  “No! Stop! Very well. I suppose it doesn�
��t matter at this point. I will tell you this doesn’t end with me. I’m merely a general for the Order of the Oath. I don’t know who I’m working for. The primo is known only by rank, and his orders must be followed.”

  “And the film reels? What do they reveal?”

  Greenwald sighed. “They reveal that conspiracy theorists have it wrong. The moon landing footage is authentic. It was all shot on the moon.”

  “It’s true,” said Strauss. “I studied it under the ultraviolet lights. There was no evidence of front-screen projection or any other inconsistencies.”

  “We only wanted you to think that the first film reel was our goal, so that you wouldn’t realize that the second film reel was the true prize. It contains the full footage of the Apollo moon landing. The unedited version that the world never saw.”

  “What was edited out?” said Desiree.

  “Why don’t you ask him,” said Greenwald, indicating Strauss. “He’s clearly already watched it.”

  “Actually,” said Strauss, “that was a total bluff. I only cut the seal on the canister to give it proper ventilation. I didn’t break orders and watch the footage. Never made any copies either. I’m a professional.”

  Greenwald sneered. “You have the footage. Watch for yourselves.”

  Strauss’s leg had stopped bleeding. Ignoring the pain, he threaded the film into a projector in his workshop, commenting on his rush of adrenalin, believing this could be the greatest find of his career.

  The first part of the footage showed the scenes they were all familiar with—the landing of the moon pod, the first steps on the moon, the planting of the American flag—but after the well-known stopping-point, the film cut to a new shot and continued onward.

  Buzz Aldrin operated a handheld camera, following Neil Armstrong as he approached an object in the distance. As they drew nearer, the object came into focus.

  A black monolith.

  “No way,” said Shawn.

  Neil Armstrong arrived at the monolith, examined it quizzically, said something unintelligible to Aldrin, and then reached out to touch it. As soon as his finger made contact, Aldrin dropped the camera and the film cut to black.

  The group rushed back downstairs in a frenzy.

  “How is that possible?” Shawn said to Greenwald. 2001 came out over a year before the moon landing. How would Kubrick have known about the black monolith on the moon?”

  “That is the question, isn’t it?” said Greenwald. “Was he waiting for the world to marvel at the monolith during the landing broadcast, knowing it would bring a whole new importance to his film? When it was edited out, was he angry enough to call into question the whole validity of the moon landing? But all that pales in comparison to how Kubrick knew about the monolith. He refused to speak with anyone about it, and his secret seemed to have died with him. Unless, of course, it actually didn’t, and that’s what this game is all about.”

  There was a long beat of silence as the group absorbed this information.

  Greenwald seemed pleased with himself, ready to be released.

  “Don’t even think about it,” said Danny. “Leave the sicko here and let’s get to a hospital. The pain is kind of unbearable.”

  Shawn looked to Greenwald. “Thank you for your help.” He turned to his friends. “Danny is right. Let’s get to the hospital.”

  “Wait! I told you the truth!” Greenwald shouted.

  “The police will let you out soon enough,” said Shawn. “And don’t forget there’s plenty of surveillance footage showing what you’ve done.”

  “Stop!” shouted Greenwald, but nobody turned back.

  As they left the archive, Desiree grasped Shawn’s hand and looked up at him. “Thanks for everything in there.”

  Shawn nodded and rubbed the cut on his head, but didn’t smile back.

  Danny punched Shawn on the shoulder and said, “Wow, you are way more badass than I thought.”

  “Check it out,” said Danny. “Our cell phones!” He pulled six phones out of the glove compartment of the cloaks’ van.

  “Two of them are Wilson’s and Sami’s. I’ll take those,” said Shawn.

  He helped Strauss elevate his leg while Desiree powered up her phone and flipped through her messages.

  She turned to him. “What the...? Did you message me... like... every hour?”

  “I was worried about you.”

  She smiled.

  They arrived at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital just before 5:00 a.m. Doctors evaluated Strauss’s bullet wound and scheduled him for surgery. They rushed Danny into surgery to reattach his thumb.

  The hospital had called in the police, who questioned the rest of the group. They had gotten their story straight on the way there. They left out details of Kubrick’s game and the moon footage, but gave them a believable enough story about the masked group breaking in and attempting to steal footage, only to have the tables turned and get locked in the vault. The security guards still handcuffed at the scene would be able to verify that account.

  Shawn lay in a hospital bed as the sun rose, five stitches in his right temple. He went through his email and found several apologetic messages from Wilson and Sami. He considered writing them back and telling them what happened, but he still had no desire to see them. Instead....

  Shawn: I have your phones. Don’t worry. I’m fine. I’ll get them back to you soon.

  Wilson: How do we know this is Shawn?

  Shawn: Because you two are a couple of scheming thoughtless jerks.

  Wilson: Okay. It’s you.

  Later that morning, Shawn was permitted to visit his friends. The USC team was already gathered together in Danny’s room, waiting for Strauss to get out of his final surgery.

  “Hey, look who it is!” said Danny.

  “You’re in a surprisingly good mood,” said Shawn.

  “How could I not be? Check it out!” He held up his right hand with the thumb reattached and wrapped in gauze. “Plus the officer who questioned me texted and said they apprehended the old dude and his minions. Now that the bad guys are disposed of, there’s no one standing in our way to complete the game.”

  “I don’t think we’re safe yet. Greenwald said he was working for someone called ‘the primo,’ and we’re still stuck on the latest puzzle.”

  “Stuck?” said Danny incredulously. “What are you talking about? Didn’t you see the same moon footage I saw? Talk about changing the course of history! That’s proof of extra-terrestrial intelligence. It must be the prize.”

  “It does fit with the clue,” said Desiree. “If the monolith represents the hand of God, doesn’t the moon conceal the hand of God?”

  “Perhaps,” said Shawn, “but it could also be meant to lure people like Greenwald off course. That footage nearly cost us our lives. My gut tells me Kubrick would not have wanted film students putting their lives on the line for his game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kubrick filmed the monolith moon scene at a later date solely for the purpose of diverting the opportunists who would be easily tempted off track.”

  Austin interjected, “Oh yeah? Then what is the right track?”

  “Since you’ve been held captive, there have been developments,” Shawn said. “But I won’t reveal them if you want to get back into the game and discover them yourself.”

  “Well,” said Danny, “we have a few ideas of our own. Seeing as we were locked up in a dungeon all week, there wasn’t much else to do but talk about the puzzle.”

  After a moment of tense silence, Desiree said, “Do I have to say it? Why don’t we put our differences aside and join up?”

  “I agree,” said Austin. “Filmmaking is about collaboration of minds. Kubrick knew that better than anyone else.”

  “Exactly,” said Desiree. “On his sets, he was known to give scripts to everyone, even the doormen, for ideas. While he may have been dictatorial about the final product, his process was incredibly democratic. He would want us working together.”

  “I’m down with
that,” said Danny. “Shawn, it’s up to you.”

  Shawn felt sheepish. They were right, but he had already forsaken the concept of unity by abandoning Wilson and Sami. Plus, he really didn’t need anyone’s help anymore. He had a car and funding from his father. Why share the glory if he didn’t have to? But he also wanted to know what they had come up with while in captivity.

  Knowing he was being dishonest, he said, “I’m on board, but you should know I had a falling out with my team. I’ve been operating alone as of late, so, it would just be me joining you.”

  “We’re happy to have you. Right guys?” said Desiree.

  Danny and Austin nodded.

  “One team?” said Shawn.

  “One team,” said Danny.

  They all shook hands.

  Austin proceeded to write the clue down on the white board in the room.

  The moon conceals the hand of God. He’ll take you to the Land of Nod. And once the final bridge is crossed, find Q’s identity that was lost.

  Shawn explained that the moon and the hand of God were references that connected Kubrick’s films with Spielberg’s. He detailed how he had visited Spielberg on set, during which Spielberg was expecting a certain question, which Shawn didn’t know, causing Spielberg to rebuff him.

  “That’s great work, Shawn,” said Desiree, “but did you figure out why all those songs were on the 2001 album?”

  Shawn considered telling them about editing the album songs into a sequential film and his dreams of standing at the Eyes Wide Shut gate after watching it, but he decided against it. He could almost smell the finish line, and the thought of crossing it with Danny, who would no doubt hog the spotlight, Austin, who hadn’t contributed anything useful, and Desiree, who had hurt him almost as bad as Sami and Wilson, was sickening. They’d even hired Rich and Luke, who ended up being moles.

  No more being used. It’s every man for himself, and deception is part of the game.

  “Nothing worth mentioning,” he said. “What have you come up with?”

  “We think we figured out who Q is in this riddle,” said Danny proudly. “We started brainstorming Qs that exist outside of Kubrick films that he might be familiar with. The most obvious reference we could think of was the character ‘Q’ from the James Bond series. You know, the dude Bond always meets up with in act one to get a bunch of cool gadgets that will help him on his mission.”