DAYS #112: The Virus (07/22/14)

EPISODE 112
Written by A. Washington-Beeby
Story Consultants: ML Cooks, Nick Monarco & C. Nathaniel Richardson

Nick and Tyler burst into the MadWorld lab, making a beeline for Nick's laptop, which sits on a conference table at the far side of the room.

TYLER: I'm telling you, this better be the real deal or I'll have your head on the chopping block so fast, Mr. Fallon--
NICK: Don't worry. Once I show you what's going down...you'll be thanking me.

Nick leans over the table where his laptop sits, and opens it. Pressing the "on" button, the computer boots up quickly.

NICK: I don't make a habit of wasting anyone's time. Particularly my own.
TYLER: You better hope not, or I'll get security to hightail you out of this company so fast your head will spin.
NICK: That won't be neccessary. Just wait. I promise this'll be worth it.

Nick pulls up a chair and sits down in front of his computer. Opening up his surveillance program, he logs into Titan's security camera system. Tyler looks on, stunned.

TYLER: Wait, how did you get access to this? And who authorized it?
NICK: There's no time to explain that. I started checking things out when I became suspcious something was rotten with our suspect here, and this helps me keep tabs on them.

Nick turns to face Tyler, a blank, matter-of-fact look on his face.

NICK: You know, you really need to work on your firewalls. For a multinational, your digital security is incredibly vulnerable.

Tyler looks back at Nick with concern and surprise. Nick turns back toward the screen as he zeroes in on Sheryl's office.

NICK: Quite frankly, a security breach would be not only embarrassing...but could be really catastrophic.

Tyler and Nick focus in on Sheryl's office, where they spy her working away furiously at her workstation.

---


Sheryl sits at her desk, Bluetoon in ear, as she stares intensely at her screen. She speaks to Jerome through the Bluetooth, careful never to utter his name as she types and clicks her mouse through the various screens, preparing to load the virus that would destroy Titan's servers into her work computer.

SHERYL (into phone): I'm through the EnerNext partition.

Through her bluetooth, Sheryl hears Jerome's voices come through into her ear with his next instruction.

JEROME (via phone):  Alright. Two minutes to launch. Make sure you start in the backup hard disk. The backup isn't typically in use, therefore will be harder to detect we're in there before it gone.

Sheryl stares dead ahead at her screen. A smug smirk appears on her face as she answers Jerome.

SHERYL: (into phone) Roger that.

---


Billie sits in her office, Lucas by her side, as she focuses on her computer screen as well. Hoping to catch some activity from the marketing wing where Sheryl works, she and Lucas listen in on her conversation, unsure who she's speaking with, as they only hear her side.

BILLIE: Come on, Sheryl. Slip up. Say this guy's name.
LUCAS: You know, I think I know exactly who it is.
BILLIE: Oh?
LUCAS: I'm pretty sure it's this guy...Jerry? Or Jerome? He came into her office last week when I was there. I hadn't seen him before, and I just...I get a feeling about him.
BILLIE: Well...we're not gonna be able to use a feeling as evidence, unfortunately. We gotta have her say his name and make it clear he's connected to what she's up to or else it doesn't exist.


As Billie finishes her sentence, Kate comes into the office. Billie and Lucas turn to face her.

KATE: It's just me. What did I miss?

Billie guffaws as she turns back toward her computer screen as she answers her mother's question.

BILLIE: Well...you missed me nearly getting caught by Justin Kiriakis, and Sheryl Connors as I bugged her office.

KATE: You didn't...
BILLIE: No. Thankfully, I didn't. But I did run into her at the elevator. Apparently Sheryl thinks you're manipulating Lucas into possibly breaking things off with her, Mom.

Kate turns toward Lucas with a sour expression.

KATE: Lucas, I told you you had to keep up the charade with Sheryl, and I meant convincingly.
LUCAS: Okay, enough, Mom. Look, it's nearly over now, and I don't see the point in trying to hide my feelings about her any longer than I have to.
KATE: Well, you still had to while Billie was putting the bug in Sheryl's office, didn't you? And apparently, you didn't do a very good job and you might have put this entire plan in jeopardy.

Kate turns back toward the screen, shaking her head in indignance at her son's irresponsibility.

KATE: I just hope this is enough to get Rafe away from that conniving little tramp, Jordan Ridgeway or whatever her name is supposed to be.

Lucas looks back Kate's way, shaking his head at his mom's persistance.

LUCAS: You just better hope this plan DOES work, or else you're gonna alienate Rafe more than you already have.

Kate looks back at her son, the both of them glaring at each other, as Billie seems oblivious to it all, keeping close watch over the Titan server, and Sheryl's actions.

---

---

Nick types and clicks furiously at his computer, as Tyler paces behind him, on his cell phone with Justin.

TYLER: (into phone) Justin, I know, but this kid is certain that there's about to be an attack and he says it's directly related to the City Hall server crash and the delay in approving the Ruggles land expropriation deal. I know he's got a handle on this...yes, I know you don't like him...I have a strong feeling he....well we don't have much choice right now, do we? If we wait on this...it might be too late...

Nick smirks as he listens on, simultaneously listening to Sheryl through a single earbud, studying Sheryl's movements closely as she is about to launch her virus.

...

Sheryl, meanwhile, is still at her desk, very nearly ready to launch her attack (with Jerome's remote help).

SHERYL: (into phone) Alright, we ready to do this thing?
JEROME: (via phone) In 3...2...1...

Sheryl hits "Enter" on her keyboard, almost ceremoniously.

...

Up in Billie's office, Kate, Lucas, and Billie study the screen as Billie jumps into action, noticing the activity appear in the backup server.

BILLIE: Damnit! She started in the backup system. I have to double back to access it.

Billie types away furiously to try to access the backup server, but is denied access.

LUCAS: Do you know the password?
BILLIE: No, but there's other ways to work around it.

Billie moves her mouse over to another window, and begins to work from there, disabling a specific firewall that protects the backup server from being accessed by her computer.

...

Nick, meanwhile, is overwhelmed by the activity. Realizing suddenly that someone else is trying to work on the backup server, he flips back to the surveillance program, and realizes it's Billie, Kate, and Lucas.

NICK: Oh, no.

Tyler, upon hearing Nick, quickly ends his call to Justin and darts over to Nick's computer again.

TYLER: Yes, it...I gotta call you back, Justin. Don't worry, it's under control.

Tyler looks intensely at the screen, as Nick springs back into action.

TYLER: What's wrong?
NICK: Nothing. I'm on it.
TYLER: I hope so.

Nick ignores Tyler's panicked threats, and takes advantage of Billie's disabling the firewall and leaps in. As the files from the backup server begin to be downloaded, then systematically destroyed, Nick locates the IP address for Sheryl's laptop.

NICK: Not so fast, little lady.

...

Sheryl's laptop displays the progress of the virus installation:

2%...

Sheryl smiles as her external hard drive she's attached to her computer works overtime, downloading and destroying the Titan files.

SHERYL: (into phone) We're on our way now.
JEROME: (via phone) And we only saving the small files and documents about the workings of the company, right?
SHERYL: (into phone) Not to worry, I programmed it to only save document files, spreadsheets, graphics, media. The rest is getting corrupted and discarded.
JEROME: (via phone) Perfect. How far we at?
SHERYL: (into phone) Only 3% so far.

...

Billie digs further in, tracking down Sheryl's IP.

LUCAS: What are you doing now?
BILLIE: I'm gonna throw the program they're using into an endless loop that hopefully will jam the program up, and buy me enough time to close up the security hole so they'll be booted from the system.
KATE: Do you have enough time?
BILLIE: I'll be fine...

Billie looks on her screen, and realizes there's someone else accessing the server.

BILLIE: If someone else doesn't beat me to it.

Kate looks over at Lucas, who looks back at her, concerned. They both turn their attentions back to Billie, and to her computer screen.

...

Sheryl looks on more and more intensely.

The progress bar inches forward...

5%...

SHERYL: (into phone) I'm gonna shift this over to the EnerNext subserver once we're done with this backup.
JEROME: (via phone) Got it.
SHERYL: (into phone) Okay...we're in. Downloading EnerNext's documents...

6%...

...

Nick plugs a memory stick into his laptop, as he continues to work furiously at stopping Sheryl. Tyler looks on in wonder.

TYLER: What are you plugging in there?
NICK: Just a program to destroy whatever device these guys are using against us.
TYLER: Like...digitally...

Nick looks up at Tyler, his classic smirk on his face.

NICK: Oh no. Not just digitally.

Tyler looks on, concerned by Nick's plan.

...

Billie continues to work away at stopping Sheryl's virus from progressing, as Kate and Lucas sit on pins and needles.

LUCAS: Billie, how much longer is this gonna take.
BILLIE: Not long now, I'm nearly there.
KATE: This better work.
BILLIE: It will, Mom. Don't worry.

Billie focuses in as she clicks to access Sheryl's computer remotely, so she can trip it up and stop it from continuing to spread the virus.

BILLIE: Almost there.

...

8%...

Sheryl stares straight ahead as she notices unfamiliar activity happening around her.

SHERYL: (into phone) Dammit! We got company.

Sheryl clicks to kick Billie's computer out of hers.

...

Nick double clicks his mouse, launching his counterattack against Sheryl.

NICK: Buh-bye!

...

Billie's computer is suddenly kicked out of the server altogether, shocking Billie, as she leans back in her seat, taking a stunned Kate and Lucas with her.

LUCAS: What happened?

...

11%...

Sheryl looks down quickly at her work computer and her external hard drive, as her computer's fan abruptly shuts down, and her computer's processor goes into overdrive, causing the computer to freeze up.

SHERYL: (into phone) What the Hell?
JEROME: (via phone) What's wrong? Sheryl???

As Jerome tries in vain to get Sheryl to answer him, her and laptop begin to overheat quickly, and sparks, with a plastic burning smell and smoke emerging from the laptop. The sparking causes Sheryl to jump back from her laptop, breathing heavily from the shock, as Jerome continues to call out to her over the phone to her Bluetooth.

JEROME: (via phone) SHERYL....SHERYL! You there??? SHERYL...

---

DAYS #111: Alex demands answers from Noelle, the virus is ready to go! (07/21/14)

EPISODE 111
Written by A. Washington-Beeby
Story Consultants: ML Cooks, Nick Monarco & C. Nathaniel Richardson

Noelle stands in Victor's hospital room at University Hospital, stunned by the surprise arrival of her husband, Alex.

NOELLE: Alex....what...sorry, I...

Alex looks back at Noelle, stunned by what he heard before walking in.

ALEX: I think you have some explaining to do. I could hear you down the hallway.
NOELLE: Wh...I'm I'm sorry, I just...I got emotional--
ALEX: You were a whole lot more than emotional just now. I think you better tell me what the hell you were just screaming at my uncle for.

Noelle stands, hesitant to explain herself to Alex. Alex looks back intensely, unhappy with his wife's anger and excuses.

---

Jordan sits on the bench in the park outside Town Square. She is distraught, recalling her doctor's visit she just ran out from. Daniel's voice playing in her head:

DANIEL: I'm sorry, Jordan...Rafe. Your home pregnancy test gave a false positive.

Jordan sits, fighting back tears as she feels her phone buzzing in her coat pocket.

Pulling it out, she looks at who's calling.

It's Sheryl.

Sighing in exasperation, she ignores the call, pressing the cancel button on her phone screen, and looks up to see Rafe standing before her.

JORDAN: Rafe...

Rafe looks at her, a warm smile on his face after having tracked down his girlfriend.

---

Sheryl stands in her office at Titan, as she realizes Jordan's rejected her call. She's exasperated and growls as she walks over to her desk, slamming the phone down on the desktop.

SHERYL: Dammit, Jordan. You're not gonna be able to escape this. And I don't know why you think you're going to be able to.

Opening up her laptop, she checks her watch, and looks at the time on her laptop screen.

6:00pm.

SHERYL: Time for the fun to begin.

Sheryl gives a cheeky smile as she settles in her office chair and pulls a bluetooth from her desk drawer, attaching it to her ear.

---

Tyler stands in his office, closing the cover on his tablet, when someone knocks on the door to his office. Tyler turns back around to call out the person on the other side.

TYLER: Come in!

Will opens the door to the office nervously. Holding a file in hand, he steps into the office cautiously.

TYLER: Ah! William!
WILL: Hey, Mr. Houston. I uh...your secretary was gone so I figured...
TYLER: Oh, it's fine. Please, come in.
WILL: Thank you.

Will scurries in, closing the door to the office behind him. He quickly hands over a folder to Tyler.

WILL: I uh...I also sent this file via e-mail, but I wanted you to have a hard copy to review in person, so I took the liberty of printing it out.

Tyler opens the folder, checking its contents, he smiles as he looks back up at Will.

TYLER: The press kit for the EnerNext project. Excellent work.
WILL: Thank you, Mr. Houston.
TYLER: Please, call me Tyler. Listen, Will. You've got a real gift with the written word. Alex has spoken very highly of you since we've taken you on, and...from what I'm seeing here, there is a lot of potential in you.

Will blushes, smiling sheepishly at Tyler's compliment.

WILL: Oh...thank you, M-..uh, Tyler.

Tyler sits on the edge of his desk as he reviews Will's work a bit further.

TYLER: I'm seeing great things coming to you very soon. In fact, I'm going to speak with Alex about grooming you to move up in the public relations arm of Titan.

Will looks unsure about Tyler's confidence in him, he sputters out an answer.

WILL: I uh...wow, that's fantastic. But wouldn't you have to clear that with Victor first?
TYLER: While Victor's in hospital, I'm in charge. And quite honestly, I'm certain he'll share my confidence in you. He seems to like you well enough to allow you to marry his nephew. That's gotta count for something.

Will smiles at this, nodding in agreement.

WILL: Fair enough. Well, listen, Tyler, thank you. I, uh...I will definitely take this challenge full-on. You have my word.

Tyler nods at Will, smiling back at him.

TYLER: Good work, Son.

Will smiles back, turning toward the door of the office. After exiting and walking back away toward the elevator, Nick emerges from the other direction, briefcase in hand. A bit jittery, he knocks on Tyler's door.

Inside, Tyler takes it upon himself to walk over to the door, opening it, assuming it is Will.

TYLER: Will, you don't need to--

Upon seeing Nick, Tyler's expression changes, to a somewhat more confused expression.

TYLER: Can I help you?

Nick looks at Tyler, full of easy confidence.

NICK: I don't know, but I can certainly help you.

---

---

Rafe looks down at Jordan, who wipes away tears as she sits on the park bench in the cold winter weather.

RAFE: I was wondering where you'd gone.
JORDAN: (sigh) I just...I had to get out of there...clear my head.

Rafe sits down next to Jordan on the park bench, wrapping his arm around her.

RAFE: I figured so. I know you were...well, we were both excited about this but...look...this is just the beginning for us. You know? There's gonna be plenty of time for us to have a baby.

Jordan looks down, still glum.

JORDAN: Well, I know that but...I (sigh) I wanted this to be it, you know?
RAFE: I know.
JORDAN: I'm sorry I just...I had a bad day. I...I had a falling out with Sheryl and now this...

Rafe looks surprised, turning slightly toward Jordan.

RAFE: Falling out? You two are best friends, what happened?

Jordan tries to shrug it off, shaking her head dismissively.

JORDAN: Just...stupid misunderstanding. I dunno. All I know is that I was just really excited about this baby and being with you and...
RAFE: And we still can be together, Jordan. I'm not going anywhere.

Rafe lets go of Jordan, slipping off the bench and onto one knee. He holds Jordan's hand in his. Jordan seems surprised.

JORDAN: Wh...what are you doing?
RAFE: Proving that I'm not going anywhere.

Jordan and Rafe laugh as Rafe pulls a small box from his jacket pocket.

(OVER THE SCENE, MUSIC BEGINS)

Jordan starts to cry again, stunned by what's happening.

JORDAN: Rafe...

Rafe opens the box, revealing a shining diamond ring.

RAFE:  Jordan Ridgeway. Will you marry me?

Jordan beams with delight and surprise at Rafe's proposal, once again beginning to cry, this time from joy.

JORDAN: Yes. Yes, I will.

---

Laura stands in her office at University Hospital with Maggie. Laura sighs as she attempts to respond to Maggie's question about Liam.

LAURA: Maggie...I'm sorry, I just...I don't feel especially comfortable around Liam, but...that doesn't mean anything about him. I'm trying to just...shrug it off. Consider it...motherly concern. It's not always easy, though.
MAGGIE: Oh, I think it's natural.

Maggie smiles and puts a hand on Laura's shoulder.

MAGGIE: You want what's best for your daughter. No matter how old she gets. I want the same for Melissa...and for Daniel.

Laura smiles back, sighing in a bit of relief that the inquisition is over before it began.

LAURA: Yeah...wouldn't it be so much easier if Daniel and Jennifer would just...find their way back to each other.

Maggie nods wistfully, shrugging in defeat.

MAGGIE: Yes...but from the sounds of it...Daniel's happy with Billie...Jennifer wants to move on, so...what's a mother to say?
LAURA: Oh, I can think of a few things!

Maggie and Laura share a laugh. Laura looks away momentarily, thinking everything over.

LAURA: But I know what you mean. I just wish I could shake this feeling I have about Liam.
MAGGIE: Laura...just pay attention to how Liam treats Jennifer, and how she looks when she's with him. Listen to the things she says about him when you don't ask about them. The more you push, the more she'll dig her heels in. It's human nature. But be prepared to change your mind.

Maggie gives Laura a hug, Laura looks unconvinced while in the hug, but resumes smiling once they separate. Maggie holds Laura's hands before stepping away.

MAGGIE: Listen.  I gotta go, Julie's waiting. I'll see you soon.
LAURA: Bye, Maggie.

Maggie steps out of Laura's office. Once alone, Laura's face drops, she grimaces in frustration after having lied to keep Maggie at bay, and ultimately, protected from Liam.

---

Alex pulls Noelle into the hospital waiting room, incensed over her screaming at a comatose Victor. Closing the door behind him, Noelle breaks away from Alex's grasp, as Alex stands by the door, arms folded.

NOELLE: Let go of me.
ALEX: Tell me what the hell you were doing in there, Noelle.
NOELLE: What does it even matter? It's not like he's hearing it or anything.
ALEX: You and I both know people in a coma can be totally aware of everything happening around them, and I certainly don't want your little...hissy fit to set back my uncle's recovery.

Noelle turns back around to face her husband. She glares at him, replying to him defensively.

NOELLE: The last thing I'm concerned about is Victor's recovery. He'll be fine. He's managed to live through a lot worse than having a few choice words thrown at him from little ole me.
ALEX: Now that's enough. Damn it, Noelle, I thought we settled this. Victor is not responsible for your father's gambling addiction.
NOELLE: Oh, like HELL he isn't. He was so bitter that your mother chose my father over him that he manipulated him back into gambling.

Alex walks away from Noelle, exasperated, while Noelle follows him, pointing a finger at Alex as she makes her point.

ALEX: (sigh) Not this again.
NOELLE: Yeah, this again. My father never got past his addiction. He certainly fooled us for a long time, but the truth came out eventually. It's too bad it took my father DYING for that to happen.
ALEX: Noelle--
NOELLE: Stop defending him. Look, I've been playing nice for weeks now, but I'm done playing. And I'm not going to sit around and pretend that Victor's loan sharking didn't play a huge part in taking my father away from me.

Alex shakes his head, exasperated by his wife.

ALEX: You know, if you hate the Kiriakises so damn much, why the hell did you marry me, then? You clould've saved yourself a whole lot of heartache if you'd just married Andrew Donovan. I hear his mom hates Uncle Vic about as much as you do. You'd have SO MUCH in common.

Noelle stares Alex down, almost unblinking as she makes her point.

NOELLE: I married you. Not your family. The fact you had to ask me that tells me an awful lot about who you care more about.

Noelle storms out of the room, holding back tears as Alex follows her out, pleading with her to stay.

ALEX: Noelle. NOELLE!

Alex stops at the doorway of the waiting room, sighing in frustration as he watches Noelle leave.

---

Nick walks into Tyler's office, while Tyler stands back, confused and unimpressed by Nick's bravado.

TYLER: You know, I don't exactly appreciate people just barging in here...
NICK: I wouldn't do this normally, but I think it might be in your best interest to hear me out.

Tyler studies Nick carefully before closing the door behind Nick, his eyes never off him.

TYLER: Alright. Shoot.
NICK: You know those...reports about the City of Salem's servers going down today?
TYLER: Vaguely.

Nick saunters toward Tyler's desk as he tells his story. Tyler watches Nick intently as he walks over. Nick looks at Tyler's desk and spies the file Will just dropped off, but stops short of looking it over, instead turning back toward a suspicious Tyler.

NICK: That outage came from malware sent from here. And it was targeting EnerNext's injunction to expropriate Percy Ruggles' land. I know exactly which employee did it, and I can tell you with precision what their next move is.

Tyler is floored by this information. He approaches Nick, visibly taken aback by the news.

TYLER: Are you saying someone's trying to stop this deal from going down from within the company?
NICK: Exactly. And their next move is going to be to launch a virus that will collect thousands of gigabytes of data about Titan before destroying the entire system, and it's about to launch tonight.

Tyler breathes in deeply, before heading over to his desk to grab his office phone.

TYLER: We have to let the tech guys know--

Nick puts his hand over Tyler's hastily, stopping him from making the call.

NICK: No. There's no time. I'm working on it in the MadWorld Lab as we speak.

Tyler hesitates for a moment, still suspicious of Nick.

TYLER: I'll overlook this colossal misuse of company time if this spares our company. Does this employee have a name?

Nick smirks as he leans over Tyler's desk.

NICK: She does. If we stop her in time, I might even tell you who she is.

Tyler rolls his eyes as he gets up from his desk, heading for the door.

TYLER: Well, I guess you'll have to convince me then, let's go to the lab before it's too late.

Tyler turns around abruptly, pointing Nick's way sternly.

TYLER: But I'm warning you, if this is some kind of game, you'll be leaving this building tonight with a security escort. Got it?

Tyler turns around, opening the door to his office and heading out. Nick smiles even wider, as he casually plucks Will's file from the desk and slips it oh-so-casually into his laptop bag, before rushing after Tyler.

NICK: Loud and clear.

Tyler opens the door and heads out, Nick not far behind.

---

Sheryl stares intensely at her computer, laser focused on launching her virus into the Titan server. On her Bluetooth, she makes a call to Jerome. Careful to not use his name.

SHERYL: (into phone) You ready?

...

Jerome sits at a computer lab at Salem U. The room sits empty other than himself. He also is using a Bluetooth device to speak with Sheryl.

JEROME: (into phone) I'm here. Where's our friend?

...

Sheryl sighs, responding curtly to Jerome's question.

SHERYL: (into phone) The less said about her, the better.

...

Jerome frowns, confused by Sheryl's frustration with Jordan.

JEROME: (into phone) Alright...

...

Sheryl shouts out to Jerome, demanding he move on.

SHERYL: (into phone) DROP. IT. Let's stick to business.

...

JEROME: (into phone) Alright. Got it. Damn.

...

SHERYL: (into phone) Drop the attitude.
JEROME: (over the phone) Okay...you logged in?
SHERYL: (into phone) Yeah. I'm logged in. You can start up remote access.

...

Jerome types in a few things, and clicks on a tab that opens a new window. In the window, Jerome types in the IP address to Sheryl's computer. Within seconds, Sheryl's computer desktop appears in the window.

Jerome smiles as Sheryl's computer desktop screen appears.

JEROME: (into phone) We're in.

...

Sheryl smirks, as she looks upon Jerome moving her cursor around her screen.

SHERYL: (into phone) Excellent. Now, work your magic, my friend.

---