Hulala—
The crew's gone.
WindyPeak Games' office in Tech Tower, Seattle is a ghost town.
Only Luke Bennett and Jake Rivers linger, awkwardly eyeing Zoey Parker.
"What're you staring at? Scram!"
Zoey tilts her head:
"Waiting for me to buy you dinner?"
"Nah, nah, we're good…"
They bolt, tossing Gus Harper a pity glance.
Just like that, it's Zoey and Gus alone.
"…Look,"
Zoey sighs, turning to Gus:
"Sorry, Boss Harper. I got heated. You know labor arbitration's a nightmare."
"Did you see their faces? They were dying to clock out!"
"Forcing overtime? Forget lawsuits—everyone'd hate us…"
She digs in her bag, pulls out a lollipop, hands it to Gus:
"I get it, this project's intense, and you're not usually like this."
"But we eat one bite at a time, walk one step at a time."
"Didn't we agree yesterday? Launch PUBG, polish it later."
Gus pops the lollipop in, nods:
"Yeah—I got antsy."
"PacificTech is hyped for this, and it's our all-in project. I just…"
"Chill, chill—"
Seeing Gus's guilt, Zoey stops scolding, pats his arm:
"Let's bounce. Rest up, bring the heat tomorrow!"
They lock up Tech Tower's office, head out.
Gus hops off the elevator at the lobby; Zoey hits the basement garage.
Beep—
Her burgundy Porsche's lights flash. Zoey slides in, cranks the radio, checks for stragglers, and cackles!
Nailed it!
Thank gosh I checked everyone's desks at quitting time.
Almost got backstabbed again!
"Hah—we're good—"
Zoey grins, exhaling:
"Whole company, only Gus wants to grind. Everyone else's too scared to talk."
"Thanks to my mad skills, I shut it down."
"Otherwise, one-sided arbitration's the least of it!"
"Worse, a polished PUBG? Total disaster!"
She slaps on sunglasses, floors it.
Buzz—
The Porsche's growl echoes as it zips from Tech Tower's garage to the exit.
But Zoey misses it.
As she peels out, a Volkswagen Bora across the way lowers its window.
The driver—Jonah York—yanks off his sunglasses, pulls down his mask, whispers into his phone:
"Boss Harper, it's Jonah. Target's leaving the garage. Confirm receipt…"
Swish—
The parking gate lifts; Zoey's Porsche cruises out, hitting Seattle's main road east.
In a smoking booth nearby, a guy in a Mickey Mouse tee—Gus Harper—lowers his newspaper, talks into his phone:
"…Got it. Target's clear, headed east on the main road."
He drops his hand.
Ping!
The 'Reciprocity Special Operations Group' Slack channel blows up:
'COPY'
'Received'
'111'
'In place'
'OKK'
'Planning team ready, boss'
'Program team set'
'Art team good to go'
'…'
Eighteen messages, all green!
Gus's pumped!
Two lives, and he never thought he'd see a team grind for a game, no pay, just to blow minds!
He raises his phone:
"First op of the Reciprocity Special Operations Team…"
"Go!"
Boom!
Outside Tech Tower, two shadows stand.
Across the street, a tattooed girl pushes out of a coffee shop.
In the garage, the Bora's doors pop—two big dudes step out.
Next door, two arcade kids drop their shuffleboard sticks.
Serious-faced young guns swarm Tech Tower from all sides, hit the building, and punch the 22nd-floor elevator button.
Gus, Mickey tee and all, checks his Mickey watch, nods.
Folds his newspaper, hands behind back, strolls in, rides to 22.
Ding!
The elevator opens—WindyPeak Games' sign greets him.
Left turn, facial recognition door swings wide.
The office is alive!
"Lucky I didn't shut down my PC. Yo, Brother York, where were we…"
"Your dance move was fire—how'd you forget after a milk tea run?"
"Since we're on DreamWorks 5, we can use its polygon tech, check this…"
"Airdrops? Red boxes, blue cloth—bright to grab eyes…"
"Omniscient tech's rough, but we gotta crank the speed vibe…"
Engineers buzz in the project room!
Click.
The door opens.
A Mickey-shirted Gus steps in.
The office hushes, then—
BOOM—!!!
Cheers erupt!
"Boss Harper's the man!"
"Brother Sheng, you're here! Got you milk tea!"
"What? You got it? I grabbed juice for Gus!"
"…"
Hell yeah!
The mastermind of this covert overtime op? WindyPeak's top dog, Chief Game Director—Gus Harper!
Yup!
All this? Planned.
"Yo, everyone!"
Jonah York steps from the crowd to Gus:
"For a shot at overtime, to make WindyPeak own the market, to debut our first game at SkyDome Arena—"
"Director Harper took a hit for us, risking Ms. Parker's wrath to give us a chance to shine!"
"Let's give Director Harper some love!"
CRASH—!!!
Applause explodes.
Sure, Gus finds this a bit wild, borderline nuts.
But the team's fire? Gold for PUBG!
He waves:
"Getting chewed out? No biggie!"
"Big props to y'all for grinding under Ms. Parker's no-overtime ban!"
"But I believe—"
"We're 'breaking' her kind rule now, but when we hit SkyDome Arena, PUBG's name echoes across the world, and our sales blow up in Ms. Parker's face—"
"She'll get us and thank us!!!"
HELL YEAH—!!!
Gus's words light the room!
He strikes hot:
"Let's roll!!!"
…
And so, the underground overtime grind kicks off.
Daily drill: save data by 5 PM, "clock out" on time.
Rotating lookouts track Zoey's Porsche, pinging Slack live.
Off-duty crew chill in groups—grabbing food, coffee, bonding.
Revolutionary vibes grow tight.
Gus's stoked for this squad.
Some are green grads, new to projects.
Others, like Jonah, are decade-long vets, worn by the grind.
But here, at WindyPeak in Tech Tower, they're one.
Vets share know-how, patching newbies' gaps.
Newbies' fire rekindles vets' passion.
The dopest thing? Chasing a wild goal with ride-or-die pals.
WindyPeak's that vibe.
Everyone's hungry.
They know they're crafting a global FPS game-changer!
Gus Harper, team's spine, WindyPeak's soul.
His vision's legit—worth the grind!
Blink—a month flies.
Until—
…
"…Oh, Chloe, my thesis USB's at the office!"
That day, Zoey Parker clocks out on time.
Chloe Quinn's headed to her mom's for dinner, offers a ride.
Zoey jumps in, hyped to mooch off Mama Quinn.
They vibe, driving to Chloe's mom's.
On the way, Chloe asks about Zoey's grad date.
Zoey says she's off to Evergreen University tomorrow for her thesis defense.
Chloe nods, asks about prep.
Big mistake.
"You… what's in that head of yours?"
Chloe sighs, seeing Zoey's panic:
"Let's turn back. Good thing I asked, or you'd be at Evergreen tomorrow, screwed."
They whip the car around, head to Tech Tower, Seattle.
Zi—
Chloe parks, unbuckles: "Where's the USB? I'll grab it."
"Plugged in my PC. Thanks, Chloe, hehe…"
Zoey flashes a goofy grin.
Chloe waves her to stay, hits the elevator to 22.
Checks the time—6:30 PM.
"Ugh," Chloe mutters:
"Traffic's a mess. Hour and a half round trip."
Ding.
Elevator opens. Chloe passes facial recognition at WindyPeak's door.
But—
The glass door swings, and laughter spills from the project room!
Huh?!
Chloe freezes.
Shouldn't everyone be gone?
She tiptoes to the project room, ears perked—
"Hot, hot, so good…"
"Serves you right, burn your mouth…"
"Look at our chief director, petty as hell, tsk…"
"Hahaha…"
"These dumplings? Brother York, your wife's pork and onion game is top-tier, restaurants can't touch…"
"Yo, keep her then. If not, I'm stealing her…"
"Haha, Gus, you clown…"
"Done eating, back to work…"
"Phew, stuffed. Eat slow, I'm diving in…"
"…"
Chloe's brow furrows.
Sounds like a crowd—Gus, Luke, Jonah, and more, chatting and chowing.
Hiss—
Her heart skips.
They're…
Working overtime on the sly?!
Click.
The door swings.
Chloe, caught eavesdropping, freezes!
Looks up—Gus Harper, lunch box in hand, stares down, shocked.
Next second—
The buzzing office goes dead.
All eyes on her.
Gulp.
Chloe swallows hard.
Crap… why do I feel like a busted spy?
Everyone's stunned stares, Gus's narrowing eyes—oppression hits like a tidal wave!
Flash—Chloe's brain kicks in, face shifting from shock to confusion!
She scans the office, steps back, checks the door number.
Slaps her forehead:
"…Dang, I'm lost. Came for Ms. Parker's USB, how'd I hit the project room?"
"But props, y'all nailed Ms. Parker's no-overtime rule."
"No one here—kinda spooky alone…"
Chloe backs off, shaking her head, heading to Zoey's office.
Luke Bennett sidles up to Gus, whispering:
"Boss Harper, we invisible or what? She didn't see us…"
Gus pauses, then glares at Luke like he's nuts:
"…You an idiot?"