Time Lady of L.A. #13: Pages 9-10

Page 9, 6 Panels- E.o.M. Watchtower, 1985 Cairo Egypt Panel 1: Cut to an exterior shot of the same clothing store in Bashtil district that we've been seeing from the inside the past couple of pages. It shows the building in roughly the same condition that we saw it in during the previous exterior shot. The fire grows in intensity as the fire trucks arrive, set to tamper the flames as a black cloud filters skyward. The lone difference is what appears to be the glare of a screen, signifying (along with the details around the edges) that we're seeing a live feed being pumped in from a satellite. Panel 2: We jump to another part of the city that was affected by the blast- a restaurant next to Nile Corniche. The outline of the shot is similar to what we saw in the previous panel, along with the glare from the television screen. There's the same type of general chaos and destruction in place as we saw with the store in the previous panel. The difference here though is the sizable hole on the roof of the restaurant as well as the parking lot in the left foreground of the shot. Panel 3: We move to another jump cut of a little section of El-Gomhoreya in front of the revered Abdeen Palace. The building itself looks in one piece, including the front gates, as a result of the explosion there. But the scars are still very much in place thanks in part to the large crater near the center of the shot as well as the shots of bodies lying on the ground. ANALYST [Off-Panel, translated from Egyptian Arabic]: Testing is successful... Panel 4: We jump to the final image in this series of video images. This time, it's at a row of houses in front of the Bab el-Wazir Cemetery. The main complex has suffered roughly the same kind of damage that we saw in the clothing store in Bashtil, but with less of the requisite flames covering the area. ANALYST [Cont., Off-Panel]: The Ifrit hit each of its intended targets within five feet of their initial parameters. Panel 5: Cut to a shot from the inside of a highly complex command center, filled with computer screens and TV monitors as well as a whole host of highly complex for the era technology. All encompassing a section of what is known as the Watchtower. You can see the Analyst in his mid-20s, sitting at his station dressed in a nice, smart looking suitcoat with a badge attached to the right lapel. M stands above him, observing the screen (along with the others around him) as the underling speaks. M [to the Analyst, through a robotic filter that can be audible in Egyptian Arabic]: How many were killed? ANALYST [as he types away, looking over at a screen off-panel]: Estimates put it at around 500 to 1,000. Also within the Board's parameters. M [Bubble 2]: Good...good! Panel 6: Slight close-up on M's face a moment later. The highly complex, beautiful tapestry of the surveillance technology in the background blurs in the background in favor of more detailinhg toward M's helmet. It's got a black visor that protects the fact and resembles what you would find on a motorcycle helmet. You can also see part of the top of M's very impressive looking body armor as she speaks. M [to another Analyst]: Any sign of the radicals amongst the body count? Page 10, 5 Panels- E.o.M. Watchtower, 1985 Cairo Egypt Panel 1: Cut to an opposite side of the room where the other analyst is sitting. The portly, diminuitive analyst looks up from his screen in M's direction. His body tensing up with a ball of nerves that befit a student unprepared for a test being called by the teacher. As was the case in the last panel of the previous page, you can see the hustle and bustle of the room continue on in the background. ANALYST #2 [nervously, to M; translated from Egyptian Arabic]: Um, n--nothing yet, M, sir. I'm...I'm monitoring all incoming and outgoing radio communications in the area. If there were any in the target areas, we will know...in due time. Panel 2: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A few beats later, there's the sudden appearance of the sound of static and people chattering indiscriminately through a speaker next to the monitor. The other analyst's train of thought is interrupted by this mysterious sound, which is heard with the same level of intrigue by a couple of other people passing by in the area. ANALYST #2 [as he grabs the headphones]: We got incoming! Panel 3: Cut to a shot moments later, shifting the perspective from desk level of both the second analyst and M as they come into view, looking over his left shoulder at the screen. The analyst has the headphones firmly locked on to his ears at this point trying to focus in on the audio coming in. M [to Analyst #2, through a robotic filter that translates into Egyptian Arabic]: They must be trying to regroup or looking for allies in the region. Do you have a location? ANALYST #2: Not yet. I am close though... Panel 4: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A minute of work and triangulation from the analyst concludes with an exclamation of relief and joy on the man's face upon discovering the target. He reaches out with his right hand to point out the location on the screen to M who leans in in order to get a proper look at what was being pointed to them. ANALYST #2 [Cont.]: There! Two people...they're in an apartment building on Al Sharbiah. That's where the transmission's coming from. M [to Analyst #2]: What are they saying? ANALYST #2 [listening intently; Bubble 2]: I--I think it was... Panel 5: Cut to a shot of the Analyst a few beats later. The headphones still firmly in place on his ears. He turns around in the direction of M to address this properly to her. You can see the chord of the big headphones start to tighten slightly in the background, corresponding to this movement. You can also see his screen, showing a radar image of that part of Cairo, focused squarely on Al Sharbiah street which lies behind the 6th of October Bridge. ANALYST #2 [Cont., to M]: "Where are the two American girls?"