Press Play

**"Press Play"** is the first episode of the *Dead Gold* miniseries.

## Plot

*After a long and storied career, Jane Rhodes unveils her new creation...and a tale of lost treasure.*

## Synopsis

Twelve years have passed since the Battle of Adams Air Force Base. Hundreds of people gather in the Bastion theatre to watch the premiere of Jane Rhodes' movie, *Dead Gold*. Jane steps out for the opening presentation and explains that, from a very young age, she wanted to be a film director, but the outbreak and subsequent chaos killed any hope to fulfilling that dream. Nine years ago, however, as the Commonwealth was beginning to thrive, those dreams were reignited. Jane explains that *Dead Gold* is inspired by a true story and hopes that everyone enjoy. She sits beside her husband, John, and son Carl as the movie begins.

*Dead Gold* is a western, with a cast of Bastion theatre actors, about a posse who go in search for gold in a zombie-infested American west. Halfway through the film, Carl angrily storms out, prompting Jane to chase after him. Outside, he demands to know why she lied and said it was a true story when it was obviously fake. Jane corrects him that she was telling the truth, and decides to finally tell Carl the truth about his father.

In her office, Jane retrieves a set of tapes labelled "Operation Dead Gold" and explains their backstory: before the outbreak she wanted to be a film director, specifically documentaries; after she joined the rangers, she found an old video camera and decided to make a documentary about post-pandemic America. The subsequent footage she captured was eventually edited down and used to make her movie *Dead Gold*. Carl agrees to watch the tapes.

Jane's story begins nine years prior, three years after the Battle of AAFB. Bastion is still under construction, but is already home to several hundred people, mostly newcomers from outside the Commonwealth. In the ranger office, Jane celebrates with Drew about getting her new video camera working, part of a special request from "the bride".

That evening, Jane is picked up by her boyfriend, fellow ranger John Blake, to attend the wedding of David and Ashleigh; Henry gives the best man speech. For most of them, it is their first proper party since the outbreak. Jane films most of it and confesses to Henry that she doesn't feel strongly about John, but nonetheless believes he is good for her. She also asks Henry why he and Holly never had a wedding; Henry explains that they were too busy at the time, but for them it wasn't necessary: they had been together for nearly eight years at that point. He does reveal, however, that they have a honeymoon planned.

The celebrations are interrupted by a security alert from Adams Air Force Base, which has just suffered a break-in. Henry, Jane and the other rangers gear up at their office and set out to the base.

The rangers are met by the base's commander, Kieron, who explains that the thieves broke into a hidden vault beneath the base; nothing was taken aside from a few military documents. The thieves used explosives, drawing walkers to the base; Henry elects to stay behind while Jane, Katrina, John, Mike and sole eyewitness Samson track the thieves. As dawn approaches, the group finds tyre tracks in the fields; they trace them to a large truck, where they find the two thieves in an argument. One of the thieves pulls a gun on the other, only for his accomplice to pull out a sleeve gun; both thieves are shot, but the one with the sleeve gun survives after shooting his accomplice in the head. The rangers restrain the injured thief and begin interrogating him.

The thief calls himself Patches and begins by asking the group a question: what item never loses its value, not even after catastrophic events including the outbreak. John answers "family" to Patches' amusement; he reveals the true answer: gold. Before he continues, Patches insists that he cannot tell them everything, otherwise years of work would be put in jeopardy. He explains that, prior to the outbreak, a group called the Contingency conducted Operation Dead Gold: the movement of thousands of pounds of gold from various banks to a single, secure site somewhere in the southwestern United States, where it would be used to back the dollar when society was restored. Since that never happened, Patches believes the gold is either still at the site or never made it there at all; he has a general idea of the gold's route and even its destination, but needed Contingency documents to confirm this.

Patches reveals that he and his former partner first searched Site 65, only to find that it had been stripped and everything, including the documents, moved to Adams Air Force Base by Delta Force. The break-in was simply to retrieve the documents, nothing more, although Patches hasn't had the chance to read them yet. Patches then offers a group a deal: a share of the gold in exchange for guidance and protection on his way south. The rangers are skeptical, but Patches asks them to check his trunk; inside, they find a single gold bar, found by Patches in the bank where he found the first document mentioning Operation Dead Gold. He promises to give the bar to them if they don't find the rest of it. Jane, believing that the adventure could form the basis of her documentary, convinces the others to take Patches back to the base while they think it over.