Room 87 (Crime Story Short Series)

Ava Sharma, a brilliant yet haunted leader of the elite cybercrime unit GUARD, works late into the night, tormented by the memory of a failed case. Her dedication is put to the test when GUARD receives an anonymous, encrypted video link. Marcus, the unit's tech wiz, decrypts it to reveal live footage of a man, known only as John Doe, enduring brutal torture in a stark, windowless room. The video, tagged "Room 87," shows a subtle plea for help in John's eyes, leading Ava and her team to suspect the violence is orchestrated for an audience. As Marcus races to trace the video's origin, he discovers the encryption is state-of-the-art, bouncing through servers worldwide. He narrows it down to Eastern Europe, but the clock is ticking as the video circulates on the dark web, gaining notoriety. Higher-ups demand immediate results, fearing another victim will be claimed or John Doe will be killed.

With limited clues, Marcus analyzes the video's metadata and environment. He identifies specific industrial piping, rare electrical wiring, and faint audio cues that point to an abandoned industrial complex in Romania. Ben Carter, a seasoned GUARD field agent, is deployed to Romania with a small team, while Ava and Marcus provide remote support. The complex is vast and booby-trapped, monitored by someone clearly orchestrating their progress. The Overseer, the mastermind behind Room 87, is playing a twisted game. Meanwhile, John Doe begins to resist his captors, sabotaging equipment and leaving coded messages within the live stream. The Overseer taunts Ava through encrypted messages, revealing his ideology of exposing humanity's darkness. He views Room 87 as a social experiment, reflecting society's voyeuristic tendencies.

Ben finally locates Room 87 and breaches the security, confronting guards but finding the Overseer absent. As he attempts to rescue John Doe, it's revealed that John is only an A. I. image. The room is rigged with explosives, set to detonate remotely. Ava realizes the Overseer's true intent: to broadcast the destruction live, targeting the audience and the rescuers. In a desperate cyber battle, Ava and Marcus work to block the broadcast and disable the explosives. They uncover the Overseer's identity as Fred Higerton, a disillusioned tech billionaire who believes he is "cleansing" the internet. Ben disarms the explosives just as Ava cuts off the live stream, thwarting the Overseer's plans. A final confrontation ensues, both physical and digital, as Ben faces the Overseer and Ava and Marcus dismantle his remaining network. The Overseer is apprehended, but as he is escorted to a transport vehicle, he is shot in the head by an unknown sniper. The sniper is never located, leaving the motive a mystery.