Storymania - Project H.E.L.P. by Michael Skurnik

Project H.E.L.P.
Michael Skurnik

Treatment:

2015. While Professor Yen, 40's, is writing an urgent E-mail to a fellow doctor, a MAN, 30's, enters her building and makes his way towards her apartment. She quickly gets up and tells her BLACK cat, “tiger it is time to leave”. Suddenly, the suspicious man knocks on her door and plays a CD recorder imitating a woman speaking in Chinese. Without hesitation, Kimberly moves closer towards the door, as she understood this message. She looks through the peephole and sees a BLACK hat. Thinking it’s one of her neighbors she opens the door. Instantly, the man shoves the door open, and knocks her to the ground.

FBI agent Anthony Porelli, 40's, is lying in a hospital bed wounded because of a gunshot. His commanding officer, Phil Mclander, 50's, unexpectedly enters the room. Porelli’s eyes overflowing with immense distress, as he declares in pain to the officer, “Phil, I’ve got trouble.” Phil urges him to remain calm, as Porelli continues unconvinced, “Quick!” You have to get me out of here before they kill me!” Phil inquisitively responds, “What the hell are you talking about?”

Porelli begins by going back in time, describing when he first was assigned to the project.


   2005. Porelli, 30's, greets his secretary, Bea as she begins listing his messages. Bea leaves the most intriguing message for last. “A man from Washington called…he said you would know, but wouldn’t tell me his name.” Porelli hurriedly strides into his office to answer the obscure message. Meanwhile, his secretary leans over her chair and tries to listen in on the conversation. Abruptly, Porelli flings the telephone across the room and furiously leans his head forward, resting it into his hands and bangs his elbow on the desk. The message came from Lt. Roland Mitchell, 40's, notifying him of his new assignment, working with the man he despises for, ‘Project H.E.L.P.’.

In response to the increasing numbers of deaths accounted for by AIDS the greatest nemesis that the world has ever faced, a project is created to defeat and eliminate this deadly virus. HIV became a dreadful concern to the world. Although first known as the “homosexual disease,” HIV rapidly spread throughout the drug communities and the rest of the population. Thousands of men, woman, and children can only pray that a cure would be discovered.

This impelled President Monica Landen, 40's, and the CDC to present a resourceful project to Congress. The President’s presentation, ‘Project H.E.L.P.’, would be a very important proposal with the one special task: ‘Help Every Living Person’ infected with HIV/AIDS. The formal intention of this government plan is to find a cure.

Ten young, yet extraordinarily gifted people are elected. Each one of them has recently graduated from the top medical schools around the world. Despite the fact that the chosen doctors lack official experience, the government favored to display the utmost confidence and faith in the new doctors and professors. Dr. Alec Michaels, 30's, Dr. Tyler Johnson, 30's, both good friends, along with eight others proceed with their research to find a cure. As time goes by, only certain medications are found to assist the immune system, to prolong a patient’s life. However, these actions could not cure or destroy the disease, and the deadly threat continues.

(SUB-PLOT)

On December 31, 2004. Victor Salas, 30's, (Hispanic INNOCENT MAN) is sentenced and convicted of murdering a seven-year-old boy found buried in his backyard. After a few months of being in prison, Victor is viciously raped by three prisoners, and infected with HIV.

   2015. Working in his basement lab, Alec, 40's, and Tyler, 40's, make an astounding discovery that halts the virus from progressing any further. The drug is called, ‘Immune Security System 3000’, and it only works when used consistently throughout the infected patient’s life, which requires them to use the drug for the rest of his or her existence.

Mitchell, 50's, and the organization approach this discovery with intensity and hurl it to the center of media attention. Alec and Tyler are awarded the ‘Nobel Prize of Medicine,’ and fame confronts them instantly. Even the president throws a celebration banquet to honor them.

After only four short months, ‘I.S.S. 3000’ is being sold around the world, and a pharmaceutical company is given the patent to produce the new, ‘wonder drug’.

One exceptionally warm evening, Alec is helping his daughter Rachel with her current-events homework. Alec notices a report on the newest ad called, ‘arm yourself,’ which encourages young people not to engage with unprotected sex, despite that the terror of AIDS has all but dissolved. Condoms still need to be distributed because of Sexual Transmitted Diseases (S.T.D) still exists. However, in one small article a name catches Alec’s eye: “Professor Kimberly Yen found dead…due to a drug overdose.” Alec quickly dials Tyler’s number.

In middle of checking his E-mail, Tyler startlingly notices a bizarre message from Professor Yen, “virus swiped…early pension.” Unexpectedly, he receives a cell-call from Alec, “turn on the news…something terrible has happened!” Tyler lunges back to finish reading the foretelling information. As the attachment file is downloading, he sees, “password: f…” and with his graceless computer skills he manages to delete the password.

Tyler quickly meets with Alec and they scheme to break into Kimberly’s laboratory. When they arrive, unbeknownst to them, Mitchell had assigned an armed security guard. Luckily, the guard’s in the restroom as they manage to slip by security and continue. Inside the dim lit laboratory, Alec searches on the computer while Tyler stands guard outside the dim hallway. Alec downloads the, ‘pension file’, and brainstorms for the password beginning with the letter ‘f’, as per the erased E-mail. It finally strikes him the word, ‘fortune’ because Kimberly always munched on fortune cookies.

Alec begins to save the file onto a disk, as Tyler hisses to him that he must hurry. At this time, the guard is cleansing his face. Tyler clumsily whacks his right foot into a chair. The loud noise alerts the guard. Alec hears the commotion so he snatches the disk and dashes out. The guard charges out, LEAVING HIS GLASSES BEHIND. Alec’s flashlight startles the guard as he yanks out his pistol at Tyler and roars: "freeze…turn around slowly!"

Mistaking the flashlight for a gun, he fires one shot in panic, which hits Tyler sending him sprawling, and killing him instantly. Horrified, Alec stumbles out of the building clutching the disk.

The smell of death is in the air as Mitchell arrives at the scene. The trembling guard tells Mitchell of a second person who had escaped. Mitchell alarmingly phones Porelli and misinforms him of Alec-not Tyler’s death so that he could trap Alec for himself.

Porelli has the unwelcome task of breaking the news to Alec’s wife. Meanwhile, Alec arrives at the home of James Upshaw, his respected mentor. Alec startlingly greets the lively older man. Alec extremely becomes emotional since his dearest friend just died. It becomes a shock that Tyler is gone. As he turns more relaxed, James suggests a plan otherwise the police will be on his trail.

Alec uses his computer to uncover the contents of the ‘pension file’. They are floored by the information it contains. The file consist of three pages, first there is a potential ingredient of a lubricated condom that formulates bits of pulverized DNA from the HIV virus.

The second has a graph of a provisions manufacturing plant. Third, indicates the social security numbers of INFECTED PRISONERS throughout the United States. All of a sudden, the name, professor Kimberly Yen leaps out and written next to her name are the telling letters: ‘Over Dose.’ Alec realizes he is looking at the blueprints of Mitchell’s intentions. Mitchell is planning to control the population in penitentiaries. Also, he wants a potential formula (DESIGNED BY: YEN) distributed under the guise of preventing all STD’s, pregnancies, along with injecting frozen red meat and poultry.

Porelli arrives at Alec’s home to break the tragic news to Susan. She is aghast and wails with disbelief. Alec can no longer wait to call Susan to tell her what had happened, and that she needs to leave the house, immediately.

Unexpectedly, the phone rings and trembling Susan reaches for it. When she hears Alec’s undeniably familiar voice, she turns paralyzed with shock. Porelli takes the phone and he’s baffled by Alec’s voice. Alec speculates since Porelli’s part of the organization, he has to be involved with Mitchell’s project, so he explains to him the evidence. Immediately, Porelli offers his assistance.

The ‘file’ needs to be eliminated before the evidence is tampered with. James assists Alec by getting him the necessary equipment to go and destroy the files. Alec and James divert security and enter the lab to set the explosives onto the computer unit. At the very same time, Susan and Porelli are about to leave, yet they have no idea Mitchell had assigned a sniper outside the house. Both actions occur as Susan and Porelli are shot at, the explosion to Yen’s computer go off.

We again see Porelli lying in a hospital bed. Knowingly, Mclander has already informed Washington to warn the White House of the occurring conspiracy. This situation becomes a matter of national security, and a military investigative hearing is called. In the presence of a review board. Mclander displays the incriminating contents of the disk.

In prison, Victor Salas, 40's, is approached by security and is told his sentence has been pardon by a judge that evidence by his determined lawyer points to the dead boys father. Victor graciously walks out of his cell and is happily united with his family.

At Tyler’s funeral, PRESIDENT KIDMAN, for the second time, commends Alec on his heroic acts in redeeming the world. Alec can only think of his lost friend and says, “Tyler is the true hero.” Mitchell attempts to exit the courtroom, but is detained and found guilty of murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity. Alec’s hand guides the coffin while its being lowered into the ground. Mitchell’s hands are cuffed as dirt covers the casket and the gates to Mitchell’s cell are slammed shut.