Frozen Assets
In the biting cold of a Winnipeg winter, two retired operatives engage in a clandestine game of cat and mouse, guided by a glitching interface from a bygone era.
# Frozen Assets
## Logline
In the brutal cold of a Winnipeg winter, two aging Cold War spies use a glitchy, decades-old augmented reality system to intercept a crucial data packet, only to find themselves outmaneuvered by a ruthless corporate mercenary who underestimates the cunning of his elders.
## Synopsis
EDDIE (72) and MARTHA (70s), two retired field agents, endure a punishing Winnipeg winter on a street corner. They are not just pensioners; they are active players in "The Game," a clandestine AR network left over from the Cold War that still assigns them missions. Their interface is old, glitchy, Soviet-era tech—a pixelated green overlay in Eddie’s eye that displays mission objectives, stats, and environmental hazards.
Their current quest is to intercept a courier, SUBJECT 9, a nervous junior analyst carrying a secure satchel. The reward is pension credits and intel, a currency that keeps their shadow network of aging agents afloat. As the target approaches, they execute a practiced pincer movement, moving from the hostile, frozen street into the climate-controlled maze of the city's underground walkway system.
Inside, their simple intercept mission is complicated by the appearance of a third party: a young, physically imposing MERCENARY, clearly corporate, who is also tailing their target. Martha reveals the true stakes: the satchel contains funding codes for their entire safe house network. If they fail, dozens of agents will be left vulnerable.
The mercenary is poised to grab the courier in a crowded food court. Realizing a direct confrontation is impossible, Eddie uses his age as his ultimate weapon. He executes a "stealth attack" by feigning a trip, colliding with the mercenary and causing a loud, chaotic scene. He plays the part of a frail, injured old man, drawing the attention of the entire crowd and putting the mercenary in an impossible position. Unable to act without being filmed and exposed, the merc aborts his mission and flees.
During the commotion, Martha seamlessly bumps into the courier and swaps his satchel with a decoy. The mission is a success. Back on the street, the cold bites just as hard, but Eddie feels a renewed sense of purpose. His AR interface confirms the quest is complete and the reward dispensed. The network is safe for now. As he walks away, a new, more difficult mission alert appears, proving that for these frozen assets, the game is never over.
## Character Breakdown
* **EDDIE (72):** A veteran field agent whose body is failing him but whose mind and instincts are as sharp as ever. He is cynical, world-weary, and constantly complaining about the cold and his arthritic knee. He relies on a glitchy, outdated neural link that overlays his world with game-like stats and objectives. Beneath his grumpy exterior lies a fierce loyalty to his partner, his network, and the game that gives his life meaning. His greatest asset is his ability to weaponize his age, becoming invisible or creating chaos as needed.
* **MARTHA (70s):** The quiet professional and mission controller. She appears as an unassuming woman in tortoise-shell glasses but is a master strategist with decades of experience. She is pragmatic, focused, and efficient, conserving her energy and choosing her moments with precision. She is the steadying influence on Eddie, providing crucial intel and keeping him focused on the objective.
* **THE MERCENARY (30s):** A physically imposing corporate operative. He is the modern face of espionage: amoral, arrogant, and reliant on technology and brute force. He views the world with contempt and completely underestimates the two pensioners tracking him, a fatal flaw in his situational awareness that leads to his downfall.
* **SUBJECT 9 (20s):** The courier. A junior analyst, he is clearly out of his depth. He is nervous, inexperienced, and unaware that he is being hunted by multiple factions. He is a pawn in a much larger game, a simple objective for the other players.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE COLD OPEN:** Eddie and Martha wait on a brutally cold Winnipeg street corner. Their banter establishes their long partnership and physical ailments. Eddie activates his glitchy, retro-green AR interface, "The Game," revealing his low stamina and the punishing temperature.
2. **THE QUEST:** The HUD flickers with a mission update: INTERCEPT COURIER. The reward is pension credits; the stakes are the survival of their network. They spot the target, Subject 9, approaching.
3. **THE PINCER:** They split up, executing a familiar pincer movement. They leave the harsh, frozen exterior and enter the warm, bustling underground walkway system, a city beneath the city.
4. **THE COMPLICATION:** Inside, Eddie's AR alerts him to an unknown signal. They spot a young, professional Mercenary also tailing their target. Martha confirms the packet contains vital funding codes for their safe house network. The mission is now critical.
5. **THE GAMBIT:** In the crowded food court, the Mercenary prepares to make his move. Outmatched physically, Eddie decides to cause a diversion. He feigns a trip, colliding with the Mercenary.
6. **THE SCENE:** Eddie plays the part of a frail, injured old man, shouting about his hip and blaming the Mercenary. A crowd gathers, phones come out. The Mercenary, unable to act without being exposed, is neutralized and forced to flee.
7. **THE SWAP:** During the chaos, Martha confirms via comms that she has successfully bumped the courier and swapped the satchels. The packet is secure.
8. **THE CODA:** Eddie limps out of the building, back into the freezing cold. His HUD flashes [QUEST COMPLETE]. He feels the familiar rush of a successful operation. As he walks off, a new alert chimes: [NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: EXTRACTION]. The game continues.
## Visual Style
The visual style is a study in contrasts, defined by "Lo-Fi Spy-Fi."
* **Palette & Lighting:** The exterior world is desaturated, dominated by cold blues, stark whites, and oppressive greys of concrete and slush. The lighting is flat and bleak. This contrasts sharply with the interior underground world, which is lit by the dated, warm, and slightly sickly yellow-orange glow of fluorescent lights, reflecting off linoleum floors and wood-veneer paneling.
* **The AR Interface:** The HUD is a key visual element and must look deliberately retro and cobbled-together. It is not a sleek, modern interface. It should be pixelated green text on a transparent overlay, reminiscent of 1980s computer terminals. It flickers, lags, and displays connection errors, mirroring the age and condition of its users.
* **Cinematography:** The camerawork is grounded and visceral. Handheld shots are used during moments of tension and movement to convey the physical effort and instability of the characters. Close-ups focus on weathered faces, chapped skin, and the visible steam of breath in the cold. These are contrasted with wide, static, architectural shots that emphasize the brutalist, indifferent city dwarfing the human drama at its feet.
## Logline
In the brutal cold of a Winnipeg winter, two aging Cold War spies use a glitchy, decades-old augmented reality system to intercept a crucial data packet, only to find themselves outmaneuvered by a ruthless corporate mercenary who underestimates the cunning of his elders.
## Synopsis
EDDIE (72) and MARTHA (70s), two retired field agents, endure a punishing Winnipeg winter on a street corner. They are not just pensioners; they are active players in "The Game," a clandestine AR network left over from the Cold War that still assigns them missions. Their interface is old, glitchy, Soviet-era tech—a pixelated green overlay in Eddie’s eye that displays mission objectives, stats, and environmental hazards.
Their current quest is to intercept a courier, SUBJECT 9, a nervous junior analyst carrying a secure satchel. The reward is pension credits and intel, a currency that keeps their shadow network of aging agents afloat. As the target approaches, they execute a practiced pincer movement, moving from the hostile, frozen street into the climate-controlled maze of the city's underground walkway system.
Inside, their simple intercept mission is complicated by the appearance of a third party: a young, physically imposing MERCENARY, clearly corporate, who is also tailing their target. Martha reveals the true stakes: the satchel contains funding codes for their entire safe house network. If they fail, dozens of agents will be left vulnerable.
The mercenary is poised to grab the courier in a crowded food court. Realizing a direct confrontation is impossible, Eddie uses his age as his ultimate weapon. He executes a "stealth attack" by feigning a trip, colliding with the mercenary and causing a loud, chaotic scene. He plays the part of a frail, injured old man, drawing the attention of the entire crowd and putting the mercenary in an impossible position. Unable to act without being filmed and exposed, the merc aborts his mission and flees.
During the commotion, Martha seamlessly bumps into the courier and swaps his satchel with a decoy. The mission is a success. Back on the street, the cold bites just as hard, but Eddie feels a renewed sense of purpose. His AR interface confirms the quest is complete and the reward dispensed. The network is safe for now. As he walks away, a new, more difficult mission alert appears, proving that for these frozen assets, the game is never over.
## Character Breakdown
* **EDDIE (72):** A veteran field agent whose body is failing him but whose mind and instincts are as sharp as ever. He is cynical, world-weary, and constantly complaining about the cold and his arthritic knee. He relies on a glitchy, outdated neural link that overlays his world with game-like stats and objectives. Beneath his grumpy exterior lies a fierce loyalty to his partner, his network, and the game that gives his life meaning. His greatest asset is his ability to weaponize his age, becoming invisible or creating chaos as needed.
* **MARTHA (70s):** The quiet professional and mission controller. She appears as an unassuming woman in tortoise-shell glasses but is a master strategist with decades of experience. She is pragmatic, focused, and efficient, conserving her energy and choosing her moments with precision. She is the steadying influence on Eddie, providing crucial intel and keeping him focused on the objective.
* **THE MERCENARY (30s):** A physically imposing corporate operative. He is the modern face of espionage: amoral, arrogant, and reliant on technology and brute force. He views the world with contempt and completely underestimates the two pensioners tracking him, a fatal flaw in his situational awareness that leads to his downfall.
* **SUBJECT 9 (20s):** The courier. A junior analyst, he is clearly out of his depth. He is nervous, inexperienced, and unaware that he is being hunted by multiple factions. He is a pawn in a much larger game, a simple objective for the other players.
## Scene Beats
1. **THE COLD OPEN:** Eddie and Martha wait on a brutally cold Winnipeg street corner. Their banter establishes their long partnership and physical ailments. Eddie activates his glitchy, retro-green AR interface, "The Game," revealing his low stamina and the punishing temperature.
2. **THE QUEST:** The HUD flickers with a mission update: INTERCEPT COURIER. The reward is pension credits; the stakes are the survival of their network. They spot the target, Subject 9, approaching.
3. **THE PINCER:** They split up, executing a familiar pincer movement. They leave the harsh, frozen exterior and enter the warm, bustling underground walkway system, a city beneath the city.
4. **THE COMPLICATION:** Inside, Eddie's AR alerts him to an unknown signal. They spot a young, professional Mercenary also tailing their target. Martha confirms the packet contains vital funding codes for their safe house network. The mission is now critical.
5. **THE GAMBIT:** In the crowded food court, the Mercenary prepares to make his move. Outmatched physically, Eddie decides to cause a diversion. He feigns a trip, colliding with the Mercenary.
6. **THE SCENE:** Eddie plays the part of a frail, injured old man, shouting about his hip and blaming the Mercenary. A crowd gathers, phones come out. The Mercenary, unable to act without being exposed, is neutralized and forced to flee.
7. **THE SWAP:** During the chaos, Martha confirms via comms that she has successfully bumped the courier and swapped the satchels. The packet is secure.
8. **THE CODA:** Eddie limps out of the building, back into the freezing cold. His HUD flashes [QUEST COMPLETE]. He feels the familiar rush of a successful operation. As he walks off, a new alert chimes: [NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: EXTRACTION]. The game continues.
## Visual Style
The visual style is a study in contrasts, defined by "Lo-Fi Spy-Fi."
* **Palette & Lighting:** The exterior world is desaturated, dominated by cold blues, stark whites, and oppressive greys of concrete and slush. The lighting is flat and bleak. This contrasts sharply with the interior underground world, which is lit by the dated, warm, and slightly sickly yellow-orange glow of fluorescent lights, reflecting off linoleum floors and wood-veneer paneling.
* **The AR Interface:** The HUD is a key visual element and must look deliberately retro and cobbled-together. It is not a sleek, modern interface. It should be pixelated green text on a transparent overlay, reminiscent of 1980s computer terminals. It flickers, lags, and displays connection errors, mirroring the age and condition of its users.
* **Cinematography:** The camerawork is grounded and visceral. Handheld shots are used during moments of tension and movement to convey the physical effort and instability of the characters. Close-ups focus on weathered faces, chapped skin, and the visible steam of breath in the cold. These are contrasted with wide, static, architectural shots that emphasize the brutalist, indifferent city dwarfing the human drama at its feet.