Our Man in L.A. (2024)

[bunniefuu]

- Oh.

- Oh.

Oh.

You look like sh*t.

- How do you know?

You're on a boat, bloody half a mile away.

New telescope.

I saw that.

- Ooh!

Hey!

Muchas gracias!

You're welcome.

It's coordinates?

For safekeeping.

- Excellent.

I got you breakfast too.

- Oh!

Ignacio.

This is, this is it.

You found it.

It took me five years,

but I said I would.

- And there's more, you sure?

We found

this one on the seabed.

So we dug down,

just below, it's the whole

thing completely intact.

It's deep, but it's down there.

- And you can get back there?

Isla Espiritu Santo.

We've got the coordinates.

- If we bring this thing

up, we're set for life, man.

For life.

Does anyone else know?

Percival, the

site man, it's exposed now.

Anyone can see it.

It's right there.

Divers, tourists.

It's just a matter of time.

- What do you need?

A couple more divers.

Resupply, head back down there.

I'm guessing two days max.

- Great.

I need cash too.

- How much cash?

- I can get you 50 grand in two days.

Thank you.

- Ignacio, you and me brother.

We can do this!

Call Aanya, cell.

We're

sorry, you have reached.

- Call Aanya Lal, work.

You've reached Aanya Lal,

director of acquisitions at

Talasa Research Institute.

- Call Talasa Research

Institute front desk.

You've reached

the Talasa Research Institute.

No one is available to

take your call right now.

- What?

- Your call

is important to us.

- Come on.

If you'd

like to leave a voice.

Where do you want to go?

- Talasa Research Institute,

Los Angeles, fastest route.

Plotting route.

Take the next exit in 300 feet.

Please leave me a message.

Aanya, it's Percival.

I have a new find.

It is exceptional.

I'm just gonna bring it straight over.

I will see you in a few.

Good day.

You've called Peter Hume

at the Adelaide Engineering Institute.

I'm away from my desk right now.

Please leave me a message

and I'll call you back.

You've

reached Leslie Heathcote

at Hampshire Laboratories.

I'm not here to take

your call at the moment,

but please leave a message after the beep.

Hi Leslie,

it's Percival Whitby.

How are you?

It's been a little while, but

I have an exciting new find.

Please call me back.

- Hey, Jurgen, it's Percival Whitby.

Hope all is well.

Give me a call when you get this.

I have a new find.

Great condition.

Thought you might be interested.

Call me back, please.

Thank you.

Where is everybody?

Connection established.

Welcome to Bunny's World.

Hi, Bunny.

So sorry I'm late.

I had a mad day at work.

Lots to tell you.

How was your day?

Did you get my text

about missing yesterday?

Mom blocked your number again.

I was thinking

I could get a burner phone.

You could just put it in your contacts

as one of your school friends.

Okay.

Hey, so big news.

We found a new crash site today.

That's great, Dad.

- A huge find!

I'm talking college fund, vacation,

new wheels for you and new house.

It's gonna set us up for years.

Nice.

What are you building?

It's a surprise.

What? For me?

It's going pretty slow though.

My graphics card sucks.

I need a better one.

We'll get

you a whole new computer.

Super fast.

Big screen.

Lots of screens.

Phoebe!

Oh, mom's coming.

Go, go.

I love you.

Sweet dreams, Bunny.

Bye.

Hey, I'll

pick up another phone

so you can text me.

I'll give you the number tomorrow.

Who are you talking to?

Just some random.

Percival.

- Good morning, Ignacio.

How's it going with the prep?

Oh! Not so good, brother.

- Why, what's happening?

I found a

dent in the propeller.

It's gonna add another

5,000 to get it done today.

- I can get you another five grand.

I do have a favor to ask.

All right.

- Is your niece still working at the DMV?

Still there.

Couldn't convince her to join the crew

because she hates the water.

- That makes two of us.

I need an address for Aanya Lal.

Emigrated from India, 2006.

Just text me the spelling.

I'll see what I can do.

- Hello!

I am trying to add minutes

to a pay-as-you-go phone

but my card here is being declined.

Sir,

there's an outstanding balance

of $17,461.23, which

is two months overdue.

- Oh, come on!

Call

from Aanya Lal, work.

- Aanya, you called me back.

Amazing, thank you.

This is

Dr. Christopher Mercy.

I'm the new director at Talasa.

- How did you get this number?

The system

forwarded your voicemail to me.

- Where's Aanya?

All of the staff are out,

expected back next week.

Aanya is taking a very

well-deserved paid vacation

before we relaunch the company.

Exciting time for us here.

- How long have you known her?

A few weeks.

- Why was her cell phone disconnected?

We're changing networks.

You ask a lot of questions, Mr. Whitby.

- Are you from L.A.?

No, Charleston, originally.

Before she left,

she mentioned you're our man

in L.A. for the exotic pieces?

- If that's what you want to call them.

Well, what

would you call them?

- Gifts from the heavens.

Hmm.

Yes, they are.

You mentioned you have a new piece.

As a show of good faith,

I'd be happy to purchase it

in Aanya's temporary absence.

- I can't do that.

Really?

- I sell exclusively to a

small group of trusted buyers.

Not companies, not corporations.

I sell to people.

Well, I'd like

to be one of those people.

- There are some not so very nice players

in this business, Dr. Mercy.

I need to maintain my

anonymity, my distance.

Of course.

You can't be too careful.

- Maybe we should wait till she gets back.

She can do a formal introduction.

I understand your position.

It would be a disaster if this

leaked to the general public.

People aren't ready for it.

- No, they're not.

I'd hate for us to miss out

on this opportunity.

Tell me what do I need to do?

- This particular

object, as they're known,

has been offered to the other buyers.

All right, well,

I'm available on Aanya's

line if you change your mind.

Call from Ignacio.

Hi, Ignacio.

I'm texting you

the address for Aanya Lal.

Excellent, thank you!

We're gonna

lose my best diver, Waldo.

- Why?

Offered another job.

- He's boosting his price.

He knows there's a gold mine down there.

It's these

tourists from La Paz.

They pay good money to swim

with the whale sharks or whatever.

- Raise his rate by a couple

of grand, he'll stick with us.

He wants an advance.

It's coming.

Send me his number, I will speak with him.

Percival.

You got enough to cover all this?

- I just need to check in with Aanya.

I just need to hear her

voice then we're all good.

Aanya, it's Percival!

I was worried about you.

Just checking to see if you're okay.

If you've fallen.

Research articles pertaining

to Dr. Christopher Mercy.

Originally from

Charleston, South Carolina.

Dr. Christopher Mercy

was born in Charleston, South Carolina

on February 28th, 1984.

He received a doctorate in theology

from the University of Miami.

On leaving college,

he enlisted in the United

States Air Force as a chaplain.

Honorably discharged in 2018,

he partnered with fellow

veterans to found...

Text from Ignacio.

Waldo the diver just quit.

This is

Dr. Christopher Mercy.

- Hi, Dr. Mercy.

It's Percival Whitby.

Okay, let's do the deal.

Ignacio, amigo.

I sold the object.

I have all your cash.

I'm heading down to the drop off point.

I'll see you in a few.

Call from unknown.

Hello?

Percival, it's Aanya.

- I didn't recognize your number.

It's my personal cell.

Just got home.

Got your note.

But I thought

you'd be sunning it up

somewhere in Tahiti by now.

I wish.

Out pounding the pavement again.

Spent all last week updating my resume.

If you hear of anything, let me know.

- Well, it sounded like Dr.

Mercy was keeping you on.

He spoke so highly of you.

Who?

- The new director at Talasa.

I never met him.

The suits barged in, take

your hands off the keyboard.

Stand up, get out.

Couldn't even log off my personal email.

Phone was shut down before

I left the building.

- I just did a deal with them.

No, Percival.

- Who are they?

Hollow Corporation.

- I've never heard of them.

They're a government contractor.

- Contracted for what?

Armor. Ammunition.

- They're weapons manufacturer?

Surveillance,

protection, you name it.

- Oh no.

Where would they keep

it? A new acquisition?

Percival, you can't go in there.

These people are dangerous

- In the office?

We usually put them

in a sample room in the lab

labeled 'exotic'.

Key cards, probably still in my desk.

- I need to get it back.

Percival?

- Yes?

Please be careful.

- I will.

Mercy.

- You stole from me.

I need it back.

You think

I'm gonna leave 60 grand

under a street bench for some yahoo

claiming he's got a piece of a UFO?

Get real.

- I need it back tonight.

Consider the

couple of grand you got

as down payment.

- I don't do down payments.

Tell me where you found it.

I'll pay you the rest plus a bonus.