The clock ticks down the final seconds as Mahomes looks downfield. He locks eyes with Kelce.
It's now or never.
Down by 5, the ball releases as the image cuts between camera shots. It slowly follows the ball into Kelce's large, muscular hands.
Touchdown!
The image cuts to an ecstatic Swift who has made her way down to the sidelines and into Kelce's arms.
His brother now by their side shoves something into his hand. He pulls back from her embrace and drops to one knee.
"Yes!" she mouths.
Somewhere in the northern Virginia suburbs, two men sitting alone in an office on Super Bowl Sunday look up from their laptops.
"We did it."
"Yeah."
"I can't believe it worked."
"This time last year she had no idea who he was. I can't believe we pulled it off."
The men glance down at their laptops as an alarm goes off.
"Yeah. It's time though."
"Do we have to? They look so happy."
"We have to finish the mission."
"Maybe the folks online are right, maybe this isn't a good idea."
"Run the macro."
The TV screen begins to flicker and pause, as if it can't decide what format is playing.
Duplicate faces appear over the announces faces when the image resumes, stabilizing after a second.
The camera cuts to the field.
Travis and Taylor have met a sideline reporter for an interview.
"What an amazing game! Tell us what your favorite moment was, Travis."
Beaming into Taylor's eyes he asks: "Now?"
"Now." She replies,
They begin to tug at the corners of their faces -- right where the hairline meets, just north of their "ears".
*
*
*
The camera cuts wide, briefly catching the sideline reporter looking on in horror.
*
*
*
The image goes black and a solitary, overwhelming scream emerges from the abyss that now occupies living rooms around the country.
*
**
***
**
*
Then it began.