"CASINO ROYALE" (2006)

Snow on the ground. It's the middle of the night. A car pulls up outside the ultra-modern building. DRYDEN gets out and moves inside.

Deserted except for the guard at the reception desk. Dryden mutters a greeting and heads for the elevator.

We're in LAHORE, PAKISTAN, a game in progress, the Pakistani team fielding, British team batting. The grandstand is crowded. The bowler hurls the ball, the batsman hits it up in the air, arcing it towards the stands. The crowd reach for it, one person catches it, throws it back. Standing next to the thrower is a dark, well built man, applauding the shot along with everyone else. Call him FISHER. He glances back at a rowdy group of fans and SPOTS a man watching him, his face in silhouette: BOND. Fisher reacts, pushes through the crowd, away from SILHOUETTE.

Sleek surfaces, lit only by the skyline beyond. DRYDEN enters, moving quickly to a hidden safe without bothering to turn on the lights. He stops dead when he sees it ajar. Dryden turns and sees Bond sitting in the shadows.

A roar from the crowd: The batsman has been bowled out. Fisher jumps over the edge of the stand, moves down the

TUNNEL

passing the new batsman on his way out. He ducks around a corner into a dark corridor, leans against the wall. The door at the far end of the corridor opens. Fisher spins to see BOND walking toward him. Fisher bolts.

Dryden switches on his desk lamp and sits, as cool as an autumn evening. In that same motion he flicks open a hidden panel in his desk, revealing the butt of a semiautomatic.

Dryden tries not to show he is suddenly unnerved.

Fisher races up a narrow staircase, leading to a balcony restaurant. It's a dead end. He pushes through a side door, runs down a long corridor, bursts into a

It's empty. He whirls, drawing a gun, pointing it back at the door, waiting for Bond to appear,

Dryden grabs the pistol, levels it -- Bond still hasn't moved.

He pulls the trigger. Click. Bond holds up the magazine.

Fisher backs up to a washbasin, turns on the tap, throws water on his sweating face - his eyes never leave the door. Suddenly, a burst of cheering from outside. Fisher instinctively brings the gun up. A second door, behind him, crashes open. Bond. He spins but James grabs him, knocks the gun out of his hand.

Fisher attacks. The two tumble into the stalls. The fight is chaotic, both men trying to hit each other in a confined space until the stall partitions fold like dominoes. They fall into the shower room. Fisher fights like a madman until finally Bond forces his head into the basin, now overflowing with water. James holds him under until the body stops writhing and kicking. Not a clean kill by any means. He lets the body slide to the floor, steps back, considering the dead man. Hating him for making this feel so much like... killing.

Bond raises his silenced Walther and fires, cutting off the words before they reach Dryden's lips.

Bond holsters his weapon and heads for the door.

Bond heads to retrieve his gun. Senses movement. Glimpses Fisher's reflection, aiming a pistol at Bond's back.

Framed against white tiles, Bond whirls and fires one shot from the Walther. We are looking along the inside of the barrel of Fisher's gun. Red blood starts to flow down the screen. This is the iconic James Bond logo.

Photos from Bond's CV, including his stint in the SAS, intercut with a high tech printing press. The sequence ends with crime scene photos of the two killings, Dryden and Fisher. After each killing, Bond's ID badge is stamped with a 0 - until it is laminated as 007. A hand places the ID badge in the folder with the photos and the unseen clerk carries it off into the bowels of MI6.

Superimpose: GULU, UGANDA. Pouring rain. The place is overrun with ragged, battle-scarred troops of a rebel army. A great majority of them are children, disturbingly thin, some as young as ten, everyone of them armed. A few boast carbines, but most carry machetes. Follow one of the youngest carrying two bottles of Coca Cola running through the mud until he disappears into a

The boy hands the drinks to a man silhouetted against the window. Call him STEVEN OBANNO. He thanks the boy in his native tongue; the boy beams and sits at his feet.

Obanno hands a cola to a man hidden in the shadows, his dark, gold-rimmed glasses glinting. Call him MR. WHITE. Obanno looks out the open window and we see his face and understand why he is the feared leader of the Lord's Resistance Army. He gazes at the Twin Star helicopter in the nearby clearing.

Three SUVs pull up in the distance. Out of the first steps a man we will come to know as LE CHIFFRE. Bodyguards climb out of the rear two and remain by their vehicles.

Obanno sits next to his grizzled LIEUTENANT, flanked by some of the fiercest-looking rebels one would ever want to see. The room is dark, the light fighting its way in through the cracks in the boards that cover the windows that run the length of the room. Obanno stares across the long table at Le Chiffre, who doesn't break a sweat.

Le Chiffre knows this was the wrong answer and clearly doesn't give a damn. Obanno smiles.

Obanno nods and three metal boxes are placed on the table. One of the men opens the closest box, displaying the money. Le Chiffre takes a hit from an inhaler.

Le Chiffre climbs into his SUV as his bodyguards load the metal boxes into the center one.

As they move off VALENKA, Le Chiffre's beautiful Russian bodyguard, dials a satellite phone.

She hands the phone to Le Chiffre.

A dignified, grey-haired BROKER sits behind a large mahogany desk. We can see St. Paul's Cathedral out the window.

Mr. White watches as the SUVs are swallowed up by the jungle.

SUPER: MADAGASCAR. We're watching a fight to the death between a cobra and a mongoose. The arena is a derelict empty swimming pool; the audience hundreds of screaming men, urging the animals on. Beyond this, a cluster of crowded shacks and deserted buildings, housing their near starving families. From a second floor we see a man looking down at the spectacle. James Bond, almost unrecognizable, part of scenery. He keeps his eye on a disheveled young man amongst the excited crowd. The youth wears a small backpack and has a white livid burn scar on his right arm. CARTER, Bond's team mate is also in the crowd watching.

Two chirps. Bomber flips open his cell phone, reads what must be a short text message, then stands and pushes through the crowd heading in Carter's direction. Carter's hand goes to his earpiece.

Carter automatically reaches up to touch his earpiece again.

Realizes his mistake too late. Bomber spots at him. Spooked, he charges off, leaping into the pool and running. Carter races after him, drawing his gun. Bond sees this.

Carter goes to jump in the pool, trips and falls headlong onto the bottom. The gun fires wildly in the air, sending the crowd into panic, people diving in all directions.

Bomber is already racing down an alley, through the shacks, heading for the jungle beyond. Bond has taken a short cut over the roofs, leaps down, is right behind him.

Bomber leaps over the hulk of a burnt out car, his agility amazing. Bond tries to keep up but is losing ground.

Emerging from the foliage, Bomber almost collides with a rusty chain link fence. Behind it, a large building under construction. He is over the fence in a flash. Bond follows, lagging behind; cut off as a digger passes in front of him.

Bomber is now through a gate, dropping behind a stack of girders. He pulls a gun, looks back. Nothing. Suddenly a foreman's hut in front of him disintegrates. It's Bond driving the digger at full speed, coming straight for Bomber. Bomber shoots, shattering the windshield. But Bond doesn't flinch, a ruthless determination driving him on. Bomber runs for the building, the digger charging over the girders, catching him up.

Behind them, a security vehicle races through the gate, siren screaming. Climbing to the first floor level of the building, Bomber barely makes it as Bond rams the digger's bucket into the concrete floor, tearing it up, right behind Bombers legs. The digger stalls and Bond leaps through the shattered windshield and climbs the arm. He ducks as bullets ricochet off the metal.

Bomber, having stalled Bond, climbs the building's framework. Two security men run towards him. He shoots one, sending the other diving for cover. Now he climbs the girders, moving incredibly fast, giving an amazing display of "free running".

Bond, realizing he is going to lose him, runs up the arm of a mobile crane, leaps off the end, lands on top of a stairwell, four floors up. Bomber reaches the fifth floor to find his path blocked by angry workers. One comes at him, swinging a wrench. Bomber kicks him in the chest, crashing him back against an upright. He bounces forward, plunging off the structure, dragging a welding rig with him. His body ricochets off a girder and crashes to the ground. The welding rig lands next to him, the gas cylinders exploding in a ball of flame. Now Bond is getting near, running across narrow girders, oblivious to the danger. Bomber has climbed to the top floor. He sees more security men charging across the roof. He turns to see Bond, gun in hand, climbing an upright, pulling himself up onto his level. Bomber fires at Bond who ducks behind the upright for protection, dropping his gun as he does so.

With the security men closing in, Bomber leaps through the air, landing on a huge slab of concrete, being lowered into position from a 200 foot crane. Bond hauls himself back up, sees Bomber climbing like a monkey up the wire cable, heading for the top of the crane. Bond makes the precarious leap onto the concrete block.

Crowds of workers are riveted by the spectacle. They watch as Bond goes after Bomber, two small specks hundreds of feet in the air. Bomber is at the top, climbing into the arm. Bond knows he has to get up there fast so he kicks the quick release lever on the side of the pulley mechanism.

The concrete slab drops away, releasing the tension on the cable which rockets upwards, taking Bond with it. When it reaches top, he grabs onto the metal ribs of the arm. The concrete slab shatters as it hits the ground. Bomber sees Bond right behind him, climbs out onto the top of the arm. He raises his gun aiming for Bond's head, pulls the trigger. "Click".

Bomber hurls the empty gun at Bond, who catches it, throws is straight back, hitting him between the eyes, dropping him. Bond goes for him but is kicked back into the metal struts. They fight like men possessed, neither giving any quarter, two hundred feet up. One slip and they would plunge to their deaths. Bomber finally smashes Bond's head against the ironwork, stunning him. He uses the moment to leap off the crane arm, over a 30 foot gap, onto the arm of a second crane below. If that wasn't enough, he now jumps from there onto the roof of the building, another yawning gap. Bond can hardly believe it. Bomber picks himself up and "free runs" over a series of sloping roofs, putting a barrier between him and pursuing security men. Now Bond does the jump, barely making it, landing awkwardly onto the second crane. His leap to the roof is even worse, careening off the top of a lift shaft, falling heavily onto the roof. Bomber dives down a set of stairs, swings across the outside of the building, lands on the floor beyond. He pulls up abruptly. Coming at him from the other side is Bond, relentless as ever. Bomber charges towards an empty elevator shaft, runs down a side wall, kicks off the back and lands on the floor below. Bond leaps down a stairway, cuts him off. This time Bomber has nowhere to go, so he jumps out of the building onto a rising construction elevator four floors below. From there he jumps to the ground and races off. Bond has got onto a scissor lift. Grabbing a wrench he smashes the high pressure hoses, dropping the lift at frightening speed. Before it reaches the ground, he's leapt off, running after Bomber.

Two trucks are at a security gate waiting to pull into heavy traffic. Bomber runs past them, heading out the gate; Bond emerges behind him. Speeding cars block Bomber's path. In a breathtaking show of agility he jumps the hood of one onto the roof of another, then across to yet another going in the opposite direction, turning up a side road. No such antics for Bond. Vehicles slam on their brakes, swerve wildly as he recklessly navigates the road. Bomber jumps off his car and runs around a corner. Bond sees a van turning the same way, jumps on the back of it.

Bomber shows his ID to a security guard at the gate. He's oblivious to the approaching van with Bond clinging on the back. As he passes, Bond sees Bomber heading up the drive towards the embassy building. He curses under his breath; makes a decision. Climbing onto the roof, he launches himself over the concrete wall, lands amongst the shrubbery in the embassy gardens. Rolling onto one knee, looks back at the security gate. All quiet. Glancing up he sees security cameras attached to the building. He moves off.

A harried conversation in mid flow, in FRENCH with subtitles:

Bond bursts through the door and heads for the Bomber.

Bond knees Bomber in the stomach, dropping him. The Attache goes for his gun but two lightning blows from Bond stop him. Scooping up the gun he grabs the retching Bomber by the scruff of the neck, hauls him out the door onto a balcony above a courtyard. The Attache hits the alarm button. Klaxons wail.

Dragging Bomber with him, Bond sees guards running into the courtyard below. Embassy employees bolt from their offices.

Two guards grab their weapons, head for the door. On the CCTV screen we see Bond hauling Bomber.

Bond turns a corner, sees the guards appear at the far end of the balcony. Between them is some scaffolding, erected over a flight of stairs going down to the courtyard. Bond throws Bomber to the floor as one of the guards starts firing. Two blasts from Bond's gun and newly installed pipe work next to the shooter's head ruptures. Water explodes, engulfing the hapless men. The soldiers have now reached the top of the stairs on the opposite side. They can't see Bond and Bomber because they're lying below the level of the solid wooden banister that surrounds the balcony. That doesn't stop them. They open up, shattering the wood and glass partitions above the banister. Glass rains down on Bond and Bomber. Bond sees soldiers in the courtyard running to the staircase below him. Grabbing some rope tied off to the scaffolding, he knots it around a bundle of copper piping, kicks it over the edge of the balcony. The weight of the piping tears off the front of the scaffolding, brings it crashing down on top of the soldiers coming up the stairs. Bond, pushing Bomber in front of him, runs through the spraying water and pushes him through a door.

A large busy room. Mostly women secretaries, typists, etc. Bond fires his gun into the air, sending everyone screaming and yelling to the floor. He hurls Bomber through a window, bouncing him off a roof onto the ground below, losing his backpack on the way down.

In seconds Bond has joined him, scoops up the backpack, grabs the stunned Bomber and heads for the metal gate at the rear. Bomber's legs suddenly give out and he collapses to the ground. Bond lifts him up as he hears the sound of weapons being cocked. He turns, holding Bomber in front of him. There, facing them are at least a dozen soldiers, weapons pointed. Bond is finished and Bomber knows it. He turns, smiles and spits in Bond's face. He walks away, then turns.

Bond fires into the surprised man's chest. Before the body hits the ground, he fires again, hitting the side of a calor gas bottle, one of many stashed in a cage nearby. The cylinder explodes, blasting other bottles in all directions, detonating some as they fly through the air. Soldiers dive for cover, some flung back by the blast from the fireball. When it's over they slowly stagger up. One of them is the Military Attache we saw earlier. As he moves forward, surveying the wreckage, we focus on a CCTV camera bolted to the fence. The Attache peers through the smoke looking for Bond. He's nowhere to be seen.

Bond jumps from a wall, heads down an alley. Turns down another alley, pulls Bomber's wallet and cell from the backpack. In the wallet he finds something odd - a playing card ripped in half, the QUEEN OF HEARTS. He stuffs it into his pocket and checks the cellphone - recent messages. One text message, one word:

'Ellipsis'

Unsure of its meaning, he jogs into darkness as the emergency SIRENS grow LOUDER and LOUDER.

A beautiful 110 foot Sun Seeker at anchor, a motor launch tethered alongside.

An elegant card room that hosts a high stakes poker game. MADAME WU, an elderly Chinese woman, throws in her cards. Now there are just two men battling for the pot. Le Chiffre dabs his eye with a handkerchief, which stains red at the touch. He notices the other remaining player, a retired Croatian General, looking:

The General blanches. Le Chiffre pushes in all his chips.

The General tries to read Le Chiffre, can't. He throws in his cards. Le Chiffre pulls the chips toward him. KRATT, Le Chiffre's dangerous looking henchman, approaches and whispers in his ear. Le Chiffre rises with a smile.

Le Chiffre bangs the door open, his smile gone. Kratt steps into the doorway as Le Chiffre finds the laptop open on his desk to CNN.COM.

CLOSE ON LAPTOP

Just before he bangs it closed we read the headline: "British Agent Executes Embassy Employee", accompanied by a blurry high angle photo of Bond firing his weapon.

The papers boast headlines like "Our Secret Murder Squad" -- with freeze frames from the high angle security camera of a fuzzy Bond, gun aimed at a man with his hands in the air -- then the following frames of the shot fired and the bomber falling. A new stack falls into frame, the same photo -- "MI6 Kills Unarmed Prisoner." RISE UP TO SEE:

THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT; the familiar icon now hiding behind a concrete skirt.

The door bangs open and M strides out, red-faced. VILLIERS, an aide, has to scramble to keep up with her. He has never seen her this angry; the words fly out her mouth. As she struts down the hall toward the exit the committee members spill out of the door in the background.

And she slams out through the exit door.

In a darkened room, fingers operate a laptop keyboard.

CLOSE ON SCREEN:

An image of a cell phone accompanies a mass of detail.

A hand pulls a SIM CARD from Bomber's phone and inserts it in a reader attached to the laptop. Someone is tracing embedded data on the text message 'ELLIPSIS'. First to be displayed is the sender's cell phone number; then: 'NUMBER UNREGISTERED'.

FINGERS TAP IN: 'SHOW ALL ACTIVITY OF NUMBER'

ON SCREEN, the data tells us: Incoming calls: 0. Outgoing: 0. SMS received: 0. SMS sent: 1. Handshakes: 18.57pm JULY 6, 19.06pm JULY 6, 19.12pm JULY 6. Local Cell time - BAHAMAS. The image zooms into the three pulsing cellular zones the phone passed through - on the Bahamas. Bond calls up a 3D MAP, zooming closer on those zones: a road passes through them, leads to only one place - a COUNTRY CLUB.

BOND inserts a MEMORY STICK and copies the zone map and related documents. Hearing a NOISE in the hall he quickly pockets the memory stick and closes the laptop.

Footsteps outside, then it opens to reveal M, a newspaper under her arm. She looks to see:

BOND sitting at the bridge table, close to the desk, expertly shuffling cards, flipping them back and forth, under:

M sees she is never going to make a dent in his armor, tries a different tact.

He exits as M burns. She sits at her desk, opens her laptop. And only now wonders if her laptop was the real reason Bond was here.

Superimpose: NASSAU, GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND. A sea plane lands and taxis toward a small terminal. Beyond we see the gleaming ATLANTIS HOTEL.

The door opens and passengers disembark from the plane. Bond steps off and rolls up the sleeves of his white shirt and takes in the view. Expensive boats cross the harbor; one of them is LE CHIFFRE'S SUN SEEKER, gliding under the two bridges that connect Nassau with Paradise Island.

James swerves around the corner of the two lane blacktop. Lying on the seat next to him is his handheld displaying the map he copied from M's computer: the route of the cell phone that texted the bomber.

Bond pulls up among swanky cars. A couple of attractive women carrying tennis rackets give him a second look. He hands his key to the valet, who also wears a white shirt and black pants. The valet drives around the corner.

Bond stalls, tying his shoe, glances up and spots several surveillance cameras. A Jaguar pulls up and a fat, arrogant GERMAN in Bermuda shorts steps out and spots Bond.

The fat man tosses Bond the keys and disappears inside the Casino. Bond glances down the line of cars parked out front, including the one marked Security near the end. He drops into the Jaguar and pulls out. Bond circles a row of prestigious cars, turns and backs at high speed into a wooden guard rail, cracking it and slamming it into the bumpers of the row of parked cars. A dozen CAR ALARMS SCREAM at once. Bond steps out and walks to the entrance. People spill out, no one paying any attention to the man on the sidewalk. Bond mounts the front steps.

Bond enters the club, passing others who are running out in response to their car alarms. TWO SECURITY GUARDS barrel out of a back corridor. As the guards disappear out the front door, James slips down their corridor. He stops at the security office door -- checks the handle. Locked. He jimmies it.

Bond enters, locks the door behind him and puts his handheld on the desk and turns to the MONITORS. On one screen, the security guards are dealing with the screaming Fat Man and the other car owners out front.

Bond quickly locates the DVD library, finds a disc labelled JULY 06, feeds it into a machine and jumps to 7:13 pm.

ON THEIR COMPUTER SCREENS:

Simultaneous feeds from several cameras. He shuttles through the footage as people come and go -- an elderly woman, a kissing couple, then a classic Aston Martin pulls up. A beautiful woman we will come to know as SOLANGE climbs out of the passenger side. A man we'll call DIMITRIOS steps out the driver's door. He flips closed his cell phone. Bond freezes the image and looks at the time stamp -7:14.22. He checks his handheld -- the phone called ended at 7:14:22pm. Bond throws one more look at the frozen screen, then glances up at the live monitor, sees one of the security guards is no longer visible. Bond slips out of the office.

Bond heads back down the hall. The SECURITY GUARD turns the corner and comes toward him.

They pass and Bond turns into the main entrance hall and approaches the front desk and chooses the pretty female clerk.

Bond steps out of the water. A quick glance down the beach reveals SOLANGE riding through the surf on a magnificent horse. She slows and dismounts at her house. Bond offers a smile. She returns it without thinking, then leading her horse, disappears. Bond looks up in time to see Dimitrios step onto his balcony and gaze out at the bay beyond.

He towels off from his shower and uses his computer to search a SECURE WEBSITE database for DIMITRIOS. He has a hit: ALEX DIMITRIOS, officially listed as a government contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Rwanda, Nicaragua, El Salvador, going back to the 70s. Dealer in arms, information, ties to death squads and right wing paramilitary groups.

Villiers stands over a computer operator, a phone to his ear.

She wakes and answers.

M taps her own bedside computer to life and plays catch- up.

M's screen changes in sync with Villiers' and BOND'S ACTIONS which WE SEE INTERCUT.

ON M'S SCREEN: an old photo of LE CHIFFRE, listed along with a dozen aliases. The red stamp over the photo reads EXECUTED, 1998 - IRAQ.

Bond weaves through the crowd; no tuxedos in vacation casinos anymore, he sports a simple polo shirt. He spots the high rollers section, recognizes DIMITRIOS. Bond saunters over and places a large stack of chips on the table.

No one speaks. Bond is dealt in as he sits. Bond notices that Dimitrios uses his Aston Martin key fob to protect his cards. The other players similarly use chips and lucky coins to protect theirs. Bond looks at his hole cards: a pair of kings. Dimitrios bets.

The player to Bond's right checks. Bond feigns disappointment and tosses his cards in.

Dimitrios, losing, sulks as a Bond wins another pot.

As they start another hand, Bond eyes Solange drifting toward their table. She joins Dimitrios, kisses him on the head.

Stung, Solange moves off to the bar, hiding her humiliation. Bond watches her as they play.

Dimitrios, almost out of chips, waiting for the river (last) card to be turned over - only he and Bond are in the pot. A king turns up.

He brings out a checkbook.

Dimitrios grabs his key ring.

Dimitrios throws in his keyring - triumphantly turns over a pair of kings - three in all. Bond flips up a pair of aces - with one already on the board - three aces - Bond wins. Dimitrios cannot believe his bad luck. Bond takes the keys.

Dimitrios smolders and tosses it to him. An attendant hands Dimitrios a note. He reads it as Bond stacks his chips.

Dimitrios turns and walks to his wife, at the bar, who gathers her purse. Bond watches as he says something to his wife and leaves on his own. She waits a moment, not knowing what to do, trying to save face, then pays for her drink and exits.

Solange waits at the curb. The valet pulls up in the Aston Martin and she instinctively opens the passenger door. Bond opens the driver's side and Solange realizes her mistake.

She closes her door and steps back.

Solange laughs. Considers.

She drops into the passenger seat, Bond guns the engine, drives around the circle and stops.

The valet opens her car door. Solange laughs.

A taxi drops Dimitrios off. He's met by Kratt.

Kratt shows Dimitrios onto the yacht, where Valenka waits topside. She shows him below. Prelap:

Kratt joins them, a menacing presence in any room.

Le Chiffre stares at him, making his decision. He takes a card from a deck on the table, a five of spades, rips it in two and hands one half of the card to Dimitrios.

Solange and Bond on the bedroom floor; her still in bra and heels, him still wearing an unbuttoned shirt.

She looks up at him, lying over her. She smiles, amused.

She begins kissing him again.

Solange starts kissing her way down his chest and lower.

Her cell phone rings. She sees it's her husband.

She answers it, still lying under Bond.

Bond stands and walks to the phone in the living room. She rolls over and watches him. Bond speaks into the phone:

She gets up and heads for the bathroom.

The bathroom door closes.

Bond hops in his beautiful Aston and takes off.

Bond sits in the back seat, his eyes on the cab in front.

City lights stretch out ahead, as the first cab passes under a floodlit sign: DOWNTOWN MIAMI.

Dimitrios sits in the back, expressionless. Next to him lies a zip bag.

It's busy. A huge sign over the facade reads BODY WORLD EXHIBITION. The cab pulls to the curb and Dimitrios steps out holding the zip bag. As he pays the fare the second cab pulls in. Bond steps out and hands the driver some money.

He follows Dimitrios into the building.

A vast area, crowded even though it's late at night. Signs for the Body World exhibit boast that it is open 24 hours.

Bond steps up to the ticket kiosk, watching Dimitrios hand his overcoat and zip bag to the coat check girl. Bond watches her hang up the coat and hand him a tag.

He follows Dimitrios down the stairs to the exhibit below.

Dark, with pools of light highlighting the various groupings, bodies cut and exposed in all their gory glory. The cadavers are posed in everyday settings, without velvet ropes or any other sort of barrier between them and the gawking crowds.

Bond follows Dimitrios at a distance. Dimitrios pauses at a poker table, four dead players mid-game. Dimitrios slips a cell phone from his pocket, types a text message then puts it away. Dimitrios casually drops something onto the poker table, scans the nearby faces, then weaves through the crowd heading toward the exit. Bond doesn't follow.

Instead he saunters to the poker table, close enough to see the coat check tag sitting atop one of the hands on the table, like a "keeper". Bond moves on without pausing and finds a dark spot a distance off to watch.

People step up to the poker exhibit and inspect the bodies, but no one touches, or even seems to notice, the tag. Bond senses something beside him, turns -- just in time -- slips under the arm that holds a stiletto that was meant for his back and grabs Dimitrios' wrist, twists it, forcing the knife back towards his stomach. They remain locked, a test of strength, neither face betraying any effort. All this amongst crowds of people, totally unaware of the drama being played out in front of them. Bond suddenly glances away, diverting Dimitrios' attention, then turns him with an arm lock, thrusts the knife into his back. Taking him by the shoulders he sits him down on a seat. Joining him, Bond pulls the cell phone from the dead man's pocket - flips it open and checks for sent messages. Just one.

ELLIPSIS

Bond scans the faces around the poker exhibit -- then looks down at the table -- and sees that the tag is gone! Bond runs, gets to

THE CLOAK ROOM

no one in line, looks to the spot where Dimitrios' coat was hanging; it's gone, along with the zip bag. Panicked, Bond runs to entrance and looks

where hundreds of dark figures come and go, many in overcoats. Bond struggles with the thought of losing his prey...suddenly flashes on the answer. He digs into his pocket and pulls out...

DIMITRIOS' CELL PHONE

flips it open and hits redial. Holds it to his ear and watches the crowd. One ring. Two rings. A dark-coated figure crossing the road lifts a cell phone to his ear.

Bond hangs up, already moving. The man tosses the phone in the trash bin and scans the street behind him. Call him CARLOS. He hops into a cab. Bond follows.

Cars, buses, people. It's busy. A cab pulls in. Carlos

gets out holding the zip bag and pays the cabbie. Bond's cab parks some way behind. He slips the driver a hundred dollar note, follows Carlos into the terminal.

Carlos feeds a ticket into an electric check-in machine. He takes the boarding pass, moves away. Bond crosses to the same machine, inserts his Nassau return ticket, glances at Carlos who is standing at the window of a money exchange.

Carlos hands over the half card (the five of spades) to the teller, who picks up a leather bag, opens it, revealing a wad of bank notes. From an inside pocket he pulls out the other half and joins it to the one in his hand. A perfect match. He passes over the bag and Carlos moves away heading for "DEPARTURES". Bond, following, sees him hand it off to a BLONDE GIRL as she brushes past him. Ignoring her, Bond stays with Carlos.

Stepping up to the metal detector, Carlos suddenly "remembers" that he is carrying his key ring - hands it to the security guard who checks it. Hanging from the ring is a tiny flashlight. In an adjacent line, Bond is having his boarding pass checked. (The reason he bought the ticket). He watches Carlos step through the detector, without setting off the alarm. The guard hands him back his keys. He retrieves the coat and zip bag from the x- ray machine as Bond moves through the metal detector.

People everywhere. Bond keeping sight of Carlos now walking into a duty free emporium. He inspects the bottles of perfume on display. Bond gazes up at the departures screen acting "normal", but not before Carlos sees him reflected in one of the display's vanity mirrors.

A passenger cart crosses in front of Bond, momentarily blocking his vision. When it clears, his quarry has vanished.

Carlos goes into a changing room and closes the curtain. He unzips the bag, pulls out a security uniform.

Increasingly worried, Bond scans the people moving to and fro in front of his eyes. Then he notices the zip bag in the hands of the menswear shop assistant, looking for its owner. It's open and clothes are bulging out the top. Bond looks one way - nothing unusual - passengers, shopping staff and armed security men. Then the other. Heading for a "NO ACCESS" door across the other side is a security man. The difference is he's not wearing a side-arm. Bond moves swiftly but Carlos is at the door, punching a keypad. He opens it and goes through. The door swings shut leaving Bond stranded.

Carlos moving past offices down a long corridor. He steps back to allow a mail cart to pass - glances back at the "NO ACCESS" door.

Struggling to contain his frustration, Bond's eyes settle on the keypad next to the door. He pulls out Dimitrios' cellphone, brings up "ELLIPSIS", punches the letters into

the keypad - the door opens and he is through.

Turning into another corridor, Carlos passes a couple of security officers walking the opposite way. He looks up, sees a CCTV monitor. The image shows Bond walking down the long corridor he has just come from. Carlos quickens his pace...

...and moves down some stairs, sees security men coming out of a locker room. Opposite is a canteen. Clearly this is where the security department is based. More stairs lead down to the outside where security vehicles are parked up, their drivers, smoking and chatting.

Bond calls on his handheld as he moves.

Carlos enters, switches on the light, grabs a broom and places the handle under the glass bulb of a fire sprinkler - he smashes it.

Villiers on a headset in front of his computer. M approaches from her office and snatches up Villiers' desk phone.

Fire alarms scream, water gushes out of the sprinklers. Bond takes the phone from his ear, runs towards the security area but freaked employees spill into the corridor blocking his way.

Drenched security men run out of the locker room and canteen, heading upstairs to help evacuate the area. The men from outside join in. One man seems completely unfazed by the chaos. Carlos calmly goes into the locker room, takes a gun from amongst the discarded clothes and equipment, puts it in his belt.

Panicking people barge past Bond. He's moving against the tide, struggling to make headway. Now the security men have arrived, yelling at everyone to stay calm. Nobody's listening. Bond may hear M's voice but he chooses to ignore it.

Security vehicles screech to a halt outside. As the security men are running up, Carlos is going down. Bond is now at the top of the stairs, against the wall, letting the men rush past, trying to get sight of Carlos. The spraying water makes it almost impossible.

Carlos is moving to one of the abandoned security cars.

Bond moving down the stairs.

Bond sees Carlos getting in the car. He charges down, taking the stairs two at a time. As he races through the doors, the car speeds away, its blue light still flashing.

The hangar doors are opening revealing the nose of a huge gleaming airliner. A temporary grandstand is being erected. Catering vehicles are arriving, their ID's being checked by security.

Villiers has found something on his computer.

Two fire engines scream past revealing Bond pounding down the side of the road.

Carlos pulls up next to a fuel tanker standing beside a long haul jetliner. The driver is connecting the hose when Carlos leaps out.

The startled driver rewinds the hose. Carlos goes to the truck's petrol tank, opens it and, unseen by the driver, takes out the small torch we saw on his key ring earlier. He twists the base, igniting a tiny red light, drops it into the tank. He pulls out a cellphone. On the screen an equivalent red light flashes.

Bond has moved onto the tarmac running under the parked planes. Behind him more fire engines and police cars heading for the emergency. He pulls up, gasping for breath. Pivoting slowly, he scans the area, looking for the security car. No sign. Then he sees it. The fuel tanker in the distance, blue light reflected in the cab windows. The car is hidden by the tanker but the reflection gives it away.

The tanker driver jumps into the cab, starts the engine. The passenger door opens and Carlos drops in beside him. Before the driver can utter a word Carlos breaks his neck. He opens the door, kicks the body onto the tarmac. Putting his gun and cellphone on the seat, Carlos drives off...

...heading towards the runway. As the tanker picks up speed Bond races to meet it. Carlos sees him, puts his foot down. The tanker heads towards a row of parked mobile stairways. As it passes, Bond charges up one, launches himself into the air and lands on top of the tanker.

CARLOS

sees Bond through the back window. He wrenches the wheel, weaving the tanker, trying to throw him off.

Carlos heads straight for a plane moving to its gate, drives under the wing. Bond has to leap up onto it, run across and jump back onto the tanker to avoid being swept off. As he lands he loses his footing, falls over the side, manages to grab a strut, can barely hold on. Carlos sees this in his wing mirror, heads for an approaching tow tug. He deliberately scrapes the side of it. Bond has to let go or be crushed.

He hits the ground, rolls and is on his feet running towards the stopped tow tug. He throws the driver off, leaps aboard and drives after the tanker, now heading towards the "live" runway.

A towing vehicle is being hooked up to the airliner. Outside, the activity has increased. Network TV vans can be seen, camera platforms are being erected.

Bond maneuvers alongside the tanker. Carlos rams into the side of the tow tug. Bond is almost thrown off, recovers, slams into the tanker, trying to turn it away from the fast approaching runway. Carlos is hurled across the cab. The cell phone falls to the floor. He grabs his gun, starts firing down at Bond. Bond rams the tanker, throwing Carlos back. Security vehicles are racing towards the scene.

Slowly the airliner is being towed out under the guidance of ground crew.

Cutting in front of Bond, Carlos swerves around a row of freestanding gangways. Suddenly a moving baggage train crosses in front of him. The tanker hits it, dead center smashing the cages, spraying luggage into the air. Bond manages to steer around the front of the train, saving the drivers life.

At the same moment an empty "caterpillar" bus going in the opposite direction crosses his path. Bond throws himself onto the floor. The tow tug goes straight through the middle "concertina" section, cutting the bus in two. The tanker emerging from the wreckage of the baggage train hits the severed back half of the bus, spinning it off to one side. The impact shatters the windshield and causes the tanker to go into a sideways skid, stalling it.

Carlos hits the starter, punches the accelerator. Bond, seizing the moment, is off the tow tug, running for the tanker. As it roars off he leaps on the running board, gets inside the cab. Both men start pummeling each other. They're oblivious to the...

Security vehicles, now close behind. Gun shots ring out as the men open fire. The COMMANDER screams into his radio:

But the damage is done. Fuel is spurting out bullet holes in the tank.

The airliner is almost out of the hangar.

The tanker is close to the runway. Bond and Carlos are fighting in the confined space of the cab. Carlos slams him against the broken windshield. To his horror Bond sees a 747 touching down. They're on a collision course. As the tanker crosses the runway, the frantic pilot just manages to lift the plane, skimming the top of the tanker. The security vehicles have come to a halt, panicked by what they have just seen.

Security men are yelling instructions, telling the workers to move. The Chief Security Officer is listening to urgent instructions spilling from his radio. He can see the tanker heading straight towards them.

Carlos tries to use his gun but Bond smashes his hand against the dash loosening his grip. Bond takes it. Carlos grasps Bond's wrist preventing him from firing. He gasps as Bond grips him in a choke hold. Despite this he makes a deliberate move to steer the tanker towards the airliner. He smashes Bond with his elbow and heaves him through the shattered windshield. Bond manages to cling onto the edge of the screen with one hand and still keep hold of the gun in the other. Carlos thumps his boot onto Bond's knuckles. He lets go, almost drops under the tanker, manages to get a grip on the fender. With his legs dragging on the concrete he can barely hold on. Panicking people flash past, the airliner rushes towards him. Carlos reaches under the seat, feeling for the cell phone. Bond aims under the tanker at the back tire, shoots. It explodes, the tanker weaves. Carlos grips the wheel, keeps control. Bond blasts the other back tire, but still the tanker holds its course. Carlos's hand finds the cell phone and pulls it out. They're almost on top of the airliner. He's about to press the button when Bond shoots out the front tire.

The tanker yaws violently, skids sideways, the wheel rims sending up showers of sparks. Carlos is hurled against the door, drops the phone. The tanker grinds to a halt, half an inch from the airliner.

The door opens and a shattered Carlos staggers out. He reaches inside the cab, pulls out the cell phone, puts his finger on the button. A shot rings out. A surprised look crosses his face.

He drops to the ground revealing Bond standing behind him, gun raised.

SECURITY VEHICLES

Scream up and surround Bond, men aiming weapons, shouting for him to put his gun down. He does so and raises his arms.

He hangs up, takes a hit from his inhaler, turns to KRATT.

Bond waits alone behind bars. He hears footsteps and looks up. Villiers approaches with a guard, who unlocks the cell.

A helicopter lands at the back of the large colonial house. Bond and Villiers step out, move past an ambulance and police vehicles to the back door.

An MI6 CSI team combs the crime scene. Solange lies lifeless on the white carpet. Bond stops dead at the sight.

Bond can't speak.

We can't tell if she believes him, but she turns and walks out the back. Bond finally breaks away and joins M.

IN THE BACK YARD

Where Bond is once again in full emotional armor. M walks him around the pool.

Bond tries hard not to show even a trace of remorse. M sees a man approaching with a briefcase, snapping on rubber gloves.

He does so. Under the following the man in the rubber gloves swabs his arm and prepares something that looks like a staple gun. M shows Bond file photos of Le Chiffre.

Bond watches the technician load a pea-sized pod into the gun and fire it into the backside of his wrist. THWACK!

The technician exits.

M heads back INTO THE HOUSE, Bond walks with her.

They are standing over Solange's body.

Satisfied, she turns on her heel.

A helicopter lifts off. A train approaches in the distance. Bond steps onto the deserted platform.

JOHN BLISS reaches for an apple from a fruit plate. As he raises it we notice the laptop computer on his tray, the DVD player showing a covertly recorded card game -- split screens of the player's face and poker hand. A stack of disks with players names lie beside the computer. The door opens and Bond steps into his compartment.

Bliss grabs his cell phone and presses an autodial button.

Three dark-suited serious types turn the sharp corner in the corridor and stride toward the door. Upon seeing them:

Without a pause the lead man chloroforms Bliss. They lift him and whisk him out the door.

Bond closes the door behind them, plunks down on the seat and watches the play, taking a bite from Bliss' apple.

Bond has a drink in his hand and Bliss' portable DVD player on his lap, studying the technique of one of the players. He rubs his eyes and glances out of the window as the train pulls into a station. ON THE PLATFORM a BEAUTIFUL WOMAN in casual clothing strides purposefully to board the train. His eyes track her every move. She disappears and he loads the next DVD.

Bond looks up from his menu to see the beauty from the platform enter the dining carriage, wearing a no-nonsense but well-fitted suit. She steps to his table.

Vesper sits, darts a look, Bond feigns innocence. She hands over a business card, the type every bureaucrat has.

Bond studies her with a smile, signals the waiter.

As the train rattles through the dramatic landscape Bond and Vesper are finishing the meal.

Vesper pretends not to be both stung and impressed. Bond pretends not to gloat. She sizes him up.

Then this trips off her tongue at light speed:

And he watches her walk away, breathless and in wonder.

SUPERIMPOSE: MONTENEGRO as a train arrives at a town in the hills, dominated by the fading grandeur of the CASINO ROYALE.

Bond and his porter catch up with Vesper, efficiently rolling her own bags. They head for the waiting cars. Vesper can't help but notice the heavily armed policemen on patrol.

The driver meets them and takes Vesper's bags.

Vesper climbs into the back seat. Bond tips the porter and in return is slipped an envelope. Vesper notices.

Bond slides in the other side, opens the envelope, which appears to contain two passports. Bond raises the privacy partition as he scans the accompanying note.

The town car stops at the main entrance.

The beautiful FRONT DESK CLERK looks up from the reception desk to see Bond and Vesper.

He enjoys watching Vesper react. The receptionist has the paperwork waiting and slips it over the counter.

Vesper glares at him, signs.

Vesper snatches her key and storms off toward the elevator, where Bond catches up.

She hits the button and the doors close. As Bond smarts from the remark the clerk skips up with a manilla envelope.

She moves off. He opens the manilla envelope and tips the contents into his palm: a key on a fob: Aston Martin.

Bond strides up to the brand new gun-metal grey Aston Martin. He slides in and quickly checks it out. He pulls a note out of the torn envelope, reads it.

He pops the glove compartment and pulls out the interior lining, revealing a gun and something labelled MEDIPAC. He takes the gun and closes the compartment, drops the gun in the manilla envelope, seals it and strides back to the hotel.

Bond and Vesper breeze along in the Aston. She keeps her attention focused on the scenery, pointedly ignoring Bond. But she can't resist glancing over just once and Bond catches the look, before she returns to the passing scenery.

The Aston snakes through the narrow streets and arrives in the town square. They park and walk toward a restaurant, passing armed militia and men in dark glasses. One man pays particular attention to them -- call him MATHIS.

New Money types lunch. Mathis waves at them:

Bond takes two glasses of champagne from the waitress.

She gives him a look and takes the champagne. Mathis offers her his arm and they stroll toward the bar.

Mathis never turns. Bond glances left to see a MAN with a BUSHY MOUSTACHE sitting with a woman much too young for him.

Behind Mathis POLICE VEHICLES scream up into the square. Mathis certainly heard the brakes screeching but he doesn't look. Dozens of uniformed cops jump out and charge the terrace. Bond glances at Mathis, concerned that the cops are coming for them. Mathis seems oblivious.

Standing beside James, Vesper has also noticed the phalanx of approaching cops but is determined not to panic.

The men surround the Police Chief and lead him away. Mathis only now glances in that direction, making eye contact with the DEPUTY who appears to be in charge.

They pay no attention to the former police chief being manhandled into the car.

Vesper takes her drink and wanders to the edge of the terrace to take in the view.

They watch her, her back to them.

Mathis laughs and drinks with Bond.

Vesper drops onto the seat in her spacious bathroom. She dumps her makeup onto the counter, looks at herself in the mirror and considers the job at hand. As she opens her first bottle there is a rap at the door.

The bathroom door opens and James swings a garment bag into the room, hangs it on the hook on the back of the door.

He exits and we FOLLOW BOND back to

where he stops dead. He sees...

A GARMENT BAG

Lying on his bed.

He pushes open the door, the garment bag from the bed hung from his finger. She doesn't turn from the mirror.

She still hasn't looked at him. But Bond likes the answer. He considers, takes it and exits. She smiles at her image in the mirror and goes back to work.

James pulls on the jacket: damn if she isn't right. We thought he looked good in his last tux, he looks amazing in this one. And he sees the difference, and is amused that she actually showed him something. He turns away from the mirror and turns back. He doesn't notice Vesper pause in the open bathroom doorway, catching him in the act.

An involuntary laugh bursts from Vesper's lips as she walks away. Bond realizes he's been observed in this private moment. He looks back at the mirror and considers himself.

She lays the garment bag on her bed and sits on the edge of it, shakes her hair out, and then looks back toward James' room. And considers him anew.

James opens a deck of cards and fans them expertly across a table.

Bond saunters across the street from the hotel and arrives at the elegant, if time-worn, Casino.

Bond passes through the metal detector, moves through the busy casino and enters the velvet-roped salle privee. He eyes LE CHIFFRE, who approaches.

Bond steps past and joins the others who stand by the dealer.

As the BANKER (MENDEL) talks, we examine the players: an Argentinean billionaire, Gallardo; a long-haired Japanese software king, Fukutu; the deposed African dictator, Infante, as well as an American, Wolpert; a Russian, Kaminofsky; the Chinese woman from the yacht, Madame Wu, and Italian media mogul Tomelli and a German countess, Grafin Manstein.

He opens an attaché case with a screen and cowled keyboard.

He swivels the machine away from the others. Bond steps up.

Bond thinks of a password, smiles, punches the keys.

Le Chiffre takes a seat at the table, Bond deliberately takes the seat facing him. The banker closes his case and the remaining players take their seats.

The players nod - except for Le Chiffre, who takes a squirt from his inhaler. For a fraction of a second his eyes glaze over. The Dealer distributes single cards.

A Jack falls in front of Bond. Le Chiffre meets his eyes.

The cards are shuffled. Bond cuts the cards. The cards are dealt face-down.

Rather than examine his own cards, Bond watches each player, looking for reactions. No-one gives anything away. Bond notices Mathis at the bar. And the game commences.

Fukutu, the first to have to bet, folds his cards. The next player is Infante, the exiled dictator:

Le Chiffre nods and puts in the same. He betrays no emotion. Bond looks at his cards. TWO RED ACES. The briefest of glances, no reaction, aware of Le Chiffre's eyes upon him. The three players to his right fold.

Tomelli, the Italian, throws his cards away.

The Dealer lays down the FLOP. While all other eyes are on the three community cards, Bond's are on the players' reactions to them.

Gallardo is neutral. Infante is visibly, if almost imperceptibly, disappointed. Bond shifts his gaze to Le Chiffre to see that Le Chiffre is doing the same thing, looking at Bond for his reaction. Bond smiles, looks down at the flop. Three hearts. 9-8-5.

Gallardo knocks. Infante knocks. Le Chiffre gazes at the impassive Bond and:

An audible reaction. Bond eyes Le Chiffre. He has a flush or three of a kind to be playing so strong. Or he's

bluffing.

Bond sees Le Chiffre's eye twitch -- only once and ever so slightly. Le Chiffre's finger comes up to hide it in a "thoughtful" pose.

Bond pushes fifty thousand into the middle of the table. An even bigger reaction. Things got serious fast.

Gallardo and Infante throw away their cards. The Dealer now lays down the next common card ('the turn'). Again, Bond doesn't look, watching Le Chiffre's reaction.

The card is a 9. The finger presses tight against Le Chiffre's cheek.

Bond looks at the card. So now there's a pair out in the open. Could Le Chiffre be holding the other nines? Doesn't matter anyway, because Bond has already decided to go all the way and find the meaning of the finger by the eye.

Le Chiffre bets:

Bond looks up and is distracted at the superb sight of VESPER entering in that stunning dress, walking up from behind Le Chiffre, her eyes on Bond and Bond's on hers. She pauses for effect some distance behind Le Chiffre, then moves around behind Bond and bends over to kiss him on the cheek.

She moves off. Le Chiffre impatiently shuffles his cards. After a moment:

Bond matches the bet.

WITH VESPER AS SHE JOINS MATHIS:

The last card ('the river') is dealt. All eyes are on it, except for Bond and Le Chiffre: watching each other.

It is the 2 of hearts. Le Chiffre slowly takes his hand from his face. No twitch to be seen.

Vesper and Mathis watch Bond carefully. Everyone is mesmerized. Bond pushes in two hundred thousand.

Le Chiffre stares back at Bond. He wasn't expecting that.

Le Chiffre now lays his cards down. He holds both black 2s. Le Chiffre has a full house.

Bond shakes his head, throws his cards away, provoking a buzz in the crowd. Le Chiffre can't believe his luck, rakes in the chips, a glint of triumph as he eyes Bond. In forcing him to show the pair of twos, Bond has stripped him naked, and Le Chiffre reads this in his eyes.

The Dealer is somewhat surprised at this request, but indicates for the barman to come over. Le Chiffre watches all this with festering irritation. The barman arrives:

He's about to go:

The other players and even the dealer have been quietly mesmerized by this performance. As the barman starts off:

Le Chiffre's patience is at an end, he looks about to burst. The barman starts away, and suddenly:

Bond smiles to himself, having succeeded in riling him.

The Dealer distributes cards. Le Chiffre quickly throws his cards away, disgusted with them. The player to Bond's right calls. Bond folds.

As three other players at the table bet and raise, Bond gets up and walks over to

THE BAR

where Vesper and Mathis are waiting for him. He puts his arm around Vesper, kisses her - it lasts a little longer than he planned. Both of them can't help but briefly be aware of that fact. As their lips part:

He kisses her again, but this time she slips it.

Mathis slips a small silver disk into Bond's hand. Bond puts his drink on the bar and returns to the table. Mathis watches him go. Not wanting to be seen doing the same, Vesper purposely turns her back so that she is facing the bar.

Vesper sneaks a peak as she tastes Bond's drink.

Cards are shuffled, dealt and discarded. Jackets come off, players drop out, money changes hands. Bond's chips stay about even, he's playing cautiously. Le Chiffre is slowly losing. We can sense the pressure building.

ANGLE ON BOND

he notices KRATT step up and whisper in Le Chiffre's ear. Le Chiffre doesn't respond; Kratt moves off.

The players shuffle to their feet. Bond stalls, counting his chips. Le Chiffre stands, turns and nods for Kratt to approach; Bond stands and palms Le Chiffre's inhaler, pressing the silver disc onto the base before replacing it.

Le Chiffre turns back a heartbeat later and picks it up. Bond moves off toward the bar to join Mathis and Vesper.

Mathis exits. James puts an arm around Vesper's waist and watches discretely over her shoulder. In the background Le Chiffre leaves Kratt and heads for the exit.

Bond doesn't respond. He finishes his drink, sees he's being watched by another of Le Chiffre's stooges: LEO. He pulls Vesper toward him and runs a hand up the full length of her spine to her neck. Her body reacts involuntarily.

As she reacts, he takes her hand and leads her to the exit.

Le Chiffre uses his key and enters his suite.

Dark walls, little light. Valenka sits on the far side in a pool of light. She looks up at Le Chiffre as he approaches.

She puts a hand on the back of his neck, kisses it, whispers:

A hand juts out of the darkness and yanks her back! Before Le Chiffre can react a garotte is flipped over his neck and cuts off his windpipe. Obanno hisses into his ear:

James and Vesper enter from the street, playing up their "honeymooners" role, arms around each other. While walking, Bond flips out his handheld. They stop at the CONCIERGE DESK.

The concierge finds the manilla envelope Bond took from the car and hands it to Bond. They punch the elevator buttons.

Obanno chokes Le Chiffre. Obanno's LIEUTENANT restrains Valenka, holding a machete to her neck.

They step into the elevator and Bond hands her the envelope.

Vesper does, sees a silenced Walther inside. James pushes a wireless earphone into his ear, punches the top floor button and watches his handheld as they rise.

Obanno tightens the noose again, Le Chiffre is in agony.

Obanno tosses him to the floor.

He holds his hands out to his Lieutenant, who hands him his machete.

The screen displays a three dimensional "range finder" - an X indicating their shifting position and blinking dot indicating Le Chiffre -- both on a 3D grid. As they rise he can get a good idea where they are in relation to each other. Bond slams his finger into the 4th floor button. Vesper hands him his silenced Walther.

gets off the elevator, moves off in the direction the finder tells him, then realizes what he's hearing over his earpiece:

He turns back to Vesper.

Vesper backs uncertainly toward the elevator bank as James moves off. By the time she turns, the elevator door is closing. She makes a grab for it; too late.

The Lieutenant raises her arm for her.

Using the directional finder James finds the right door. Unsure what to do -- break the door down or let it happen. He decides on breaking it down. Then realizes Vesper is still waiting for the elevator.

She sees the sign for the stairwell, right near Bond. She hurries toward it. Bond turns back to the suite door.

Obanno swings the razor sharp machete down from over his head and...stops maybe a half an inch from Valenka's arm. Holding it there, he turns his head and looks at Le Chiffre.

Obanno kisses her roughly, laughs and tosses her after Le Chiffre. Obanno nods to his Lieutenant and they head out.

James, listening to his earpiece, realize they are coming right out the door! He turns and grabs Vesper, who is running toward him, and pushes her into the alcove of a BUTLER'S PANTRY (which leads to the STAIRWELL) and into a deep kiss. She fights for a second, sees THE SUITE DOOR OPEN and melts into the kiss, grabbing the back of Bond's neck.

OBANNO

steps out of the suite, his Lieutenant on his heels. They spy the lovers; Obanno smiles to himself and continues past toward to the elevator. HIS LIEUTENANT

glances back in passing and spots THE WIRELESS EARPHONE in Bond's ear. He makes a grab for his gun.

BOND

Sees it happening out of the corner of his eye, shoves Vesper toward the stairwell door and fires a silenced round into the Lieutenant's chest. Vesper bolts for the

She smashes through the door just a second before Bond throws the Lieutenant's body in after her. A heartbeat

later OBANNO'S MACHETE just about takes off James' arm. His Walther falls over the rail. The door swings closed behind them as James grabs the huge warrior and jams a hand into Obanno's mouth to keep him from calling out.

She takes off down the stairs, makes it to...

THE FLOOR BELOW

She yanks on the door - locked - looks up in time to see James flipped over the banister, landing with a back- cracking thud on the stairs beside her.

Obanno leaps over the railing, machete in hand, as Vesper runs for her life, bounding down the stairs two at a time, glancing back up just in time to see:

BOTH MEN

tumble over the railing above and plummet toward her. They land just a few treads away, flailing at each other, the machete drawing blood, as

VESPER

runs on down.

FLOOR AFTER FLOOR

the action is repeated, with one man being thrown or pushed over the railing above her and the other clambering after him.

BASEMENT FLOOR

Vesper rounds the last railing and flings herself at the exit door - it won't open! She looks up; THE MACHETE

twirls through the air, coming straight for her! She moves and it slices past her, embedding itself in the concrete floor!

VESPER

slams herself into the chained emergency door over and over again, in a blind, unthinking panic. Suddenly

BOND AND OBANNO

come crashing down almost on top of her, fighting for their lives. Bond rights himself and grabs Obanno from behind in a neck lock. Obanno shoves Bond backwards -- they stumble into Vesper and trip, falling in a heap in the corner -- Obanno atop Bond atop Vesper all facing upwards -- Obanno turning blue from the choke hold -- sees:

BOND'S SILENCED WALTHER

on the floor where it landed. Grabs it and

FIRES wildly over his shoulder! The bullets barely miss Bond and Vesper. They gouge the wall just centimeters from their heads and ricochet madly around the concrete well. Vesper can't even form a scream in her throat.

BOND

uses all his strength to force the gun in Obanno's hand up to the large man's neck, forces the large man's finger to pull the trigger and JUST OFF CAMERA the bullet finds its mark -- blood spraying over Bond's shirt and Vesper's face.

Obanno slumps. Bond pants for air, he and Vesper pinned under the giant's dead weight. When he catches his breath he forces the body off theirs and stands, sees a BIN under the stairs and kicks open the padlocked hasp. He turns to look at Vesper, sees she's in shock, but needs her help. Bond rips off his bloodied tuxedo shirt and wipes the blood from her face. She lets him do it.

She nods unconvincingly.

He prompts her up the stairs. After the first flight she runs.

Below, Bond drags the huge man toward the bin.

Bond tosses his bloodied shirt, pulls off his jacket and focuses to slow his breath. He washes the blood off a cut wound on his arm -- the blood swirling down the sink. He sticks on a quick bandage, wipes the blood off the countertop and the sweat from under his arms, then finally leans on the sink and stares at himself in the mirror. Only now do we glimpse that he is having a hard time with the killings. He looks down at the counter, notices he's leaving red hand prints on the white marble. Washes his hands again.

We move with Bond as he adjusts his shirt -- identical to the one he wore this morning. He notices a fleck of blood on the black jacket sleeve, picks up a napkin without pausing, dabs the red off and hands the used napkin to a passing waiter.

He arrives at the table in time to see one of the other players lose to Le Chiffre. Le Chiffre collects his chips, but his eyes are on Bond as he takes his seat.

Le Chiffre's smile fades. Bond is dealt in.

It's hours later, Bond lets himself in, undoing his tie to reveal a very creased shirt. In the shadowed bedroom he sees Vesper's gown on the floor, an empty wine bottle on the table, hears her shower running.

Tired and jaded, he doesn't think too much of it, pulls off his shirt -- yes, he has been sweating. He glances back at Vesper's suite, listens to the shower running, and senses something's wrong.

VESPER'S BATHROOM.

He enters, can't see her, now is becoming concerned. He sees a leg protruding from the shower. He turns the corner and finds her sitting in bra and panties, clutching one knee to her chest, oblivious to the pelting water. James drops to the floor of the shower, throws his arms around her and pulls her to him, letting the water run over both of them.

Bond looks at her fingers: not a trace of blood. He puts each finger in his mouth in turn, not sexually, but as if to clean them. And of course the non-sexual aspect of it is incredibly sexy. When done....

Vesper realizes she is, gives a small little-girl nod. Bond reaches up and turns the hot water tap higher. She appreciates the unusual, and charming, choice, in that he fails to acknowledge anything odd about her behavior. She rests her head on his shoulder. The two sit there in the warm "rain," not saying a word.

Bond steps up to Vesper's bedroom door, sees her sleeping naked under her sheets, the rest of the bed pristine -- she slept alone. Bond checks his vibrating phone for a text message, closes Vesper's bedroom door and exits.

Bond finds Mathis looking down at the hotel parking lot.

He takes out a phone and Bond follows his gaze to the forecourt: two policemen are questioning Le Chiffre's henchman LEO at his parked car. Mathis dials...

A phone RINGS nearby - the trunk of the car? Leo is as surprised as the cops as they open it to find OBANNO and his LIEUTENANT'S CORPSES, phone trilling in one of their pockets.

Bond and Mathis smile as Leo is handcuffed.

Bond turns and exits back into the casino.

Le Chiffre stands behind a fluttering curtain, watching the scene.

CLOSE ON HIS EYES. A RED DOT. A BLOODY TEAR. Then he turns and disappears, the curtain left fluttering as before.

SHOTS OF - dealt hands being lifted, chips being tossed in the pot, hands thrown away.

The Argentinean goes all in with his remaining chips. And looks disgusted as he is beaten. He's out. Leaves.

More chips going in, more cards dealt to the weary players. Another player tosses his cards down, gets up angrily. Out of the game.

Four face-up cards: A-K-J-J

Bond holds ACE & KING OF HEARTS. He sees Le Chiffre's finger go to the side of his face to hold his twitch in place.

MATHIS & VESPER

watch from the rail.

Bond looks to Vesper, who tries to smile back at him. His face remains hard.

AT TABLE The American, Wolpert, pushes forward a lot of chips:

Bond watches Le Chiffre. He pushes in his chips. Bond follows suit. A million just went in.

The card is turned over. A KING. Exactly what Bond was hoping for. LE CHIFFRE is implacable - but his finger is still pressed to his cheek. The five cards face-up are A-J-J-K-K.

Wolpert stares at them. Knocks the table.

MATHIS & VESPER

AT TABLE

A large stack of chips moves forward.

Finger still clamped to hide any twitch. Bond smells blood. He's got him. Slowly counts his chips. MATHIS & VESPER

Vesper reacts: My God.

AT TABLE

Bond pushes everything in:

Le Chiffre stares back at him. Wolpert suddenly seems happy as he throws his cards away. He turns to Bond:

He is silenced by Le Chiffre pushing his money in. For a moment, Bond has doubts.

Eyes locked on Le Chiffre, Bond shows his cards.

Bond waits for the reaction. Le Chiffre merely smiles:

He turns over TWO JACKS. FOUR OF A KIND.

A great hushed reaction in the room. Bond is devastated.

Bond sits silent, frozen with defeat. Cleaned out.

Bond steps out onto the terrace, looks out over the moonlit hills. His world in disarray. How could he have been so wrong? He had Le Chiffre all worked out.

Vesper and Mathis watch from inside, almost embarrassed to be watching him, neither knowing what to say. Vesper finally joins him. Bond is still reeling. Not wanting to show her this he pulls himself together.

She was afraid he'd say that. Beat. He turns to look:

It hangs there. He is still, controlling himself.

terrorist bombings. If you think it is, then you are arrogant.

He lets go. She turns and walks out of the casino.

Bond enters the bar, frustrated and preoccupied.

He takes his drink, racks his brains as to how to move forward. Hears Le Chiffre laughing as they walk away from the table, taking a break. Bond spies him joking with Kratt and two men who have the look of trained killers; reinforcements. Back with James, a waiter clears a nearby table and puts the place setting on the bar: plate, cutlery, steak knife. Bond make his decision, palms the knife and slides it up the sleeve of his jacket and rises, as Mathis approaches with sympathy.

But Bond is already moving.

Bond walks, determined, focused on Le Chiffre - who is walking away down a corridor, in the company of Kratt and several bodyguards. It's suicide and he's okay with that. His fingers get a grip on the handle; readies to slip it out...when WOLPERT cuts across his path.

That got James' attention. Wolpert indicates the hand in which Bond cups his knife.

Bond gives him a look. Wolpert gets the picture. Bond is still coiled and dangerous.

Bond takes this in.

Sitting down for the next session, they are removing Bond's chair when Bond stops him. Le Chiffre looks surprised.

Bond smiles. Le Chiffre returns it.

SHOTS OF :

AN EXHAUSTED PLAYER FOLDS (DISSOLVING BEFORE OUR EYES)

BOND RAKING IN CHIPS (CLAWING HIS WAY BACK IN)

BOND AND LE CHIFFRE EYEING ONE ANOTHER, BOND UNFLINCHING

A BARMAN places two of "Bond's" drinks on a tray, one with a lemon slice, one without. He turns to retrieve some water. Which is when we notice VALENKA seated on the stool next to the tray. Behind the barman's back she slips some powder into the drink with the lemon and stirs. The barman returns with two glasses of sparkling water as THE WAITER approaches to take the tray.

Follow the waiter to the card table, where she places the glass without the lemon in front of Tomelli, who looks to be barely hanging into the game. She places the other in front of Bond. He sips. Plays his cards. Wins the hand.

At the table, Bond takes a sip of his drink, confidence growing. His cold eyes flick to Vesper, watching, wondering how he got back into the game. A hand is dealt, played. Bond checks his cards, closes his eyes -- just a blink.

opens his eyes again and it's a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT HAND. He realizes moments have passed! He's disoriented, losing focus. Things are taking on a yellow tint, coronas forming around lights. Bond shakes it off, trying to clear his mind, sweating. Smells the glass; realizes he's been poisoned.

Bond shoves his chips in and walks away. The players are more than a tad surprised. Le Chiffre shrugs. Bond passes a table, casually takes a glass and a salt shaker and keeps moving on slightly unsteady legs. VESPER is one of the few who notice. The MAN AT THE BAR near her snorts disapproval.

She writes it off to that as well. Bloody arrogance.

He bangs open the door, pours the entire cellar into the glass, fills it with hot water and knocks it back. The effect is quick - he throws up into the sink.

Ash white, heart pounding, bleary-eyed, Bond stumbles across the street, narrowly missing being run over by passing cars. He finds his Aston Martin parked in a dark corner, unlocks it with a push of a button, opens the door and falls into the seat. He slams his fist into the glove compartment, tears out the lining and grabs the MEDIPAC. He closes his eyes for just a second -- opens them -- sees:

A LOUD BUNCH OF DRUNKEN GUESTS passing the car who weren't in the deserted parking lot a second ago -- he's blacked out again.

BOND

considers calling to them for help. Doesn't. He forces himself to stay conscious, rips open the medipac -- finds a surgical needle attached to a wire and an electronic box, jams the needle into his arm and attaches the lead from the box to his handheld. It instantly makes a call.

A TECHNICIAN who was chatting with a CO-WORKER turns to his COMPUTER SCREEN as it RINGS and CLICKS TO LIFE, DOWNLOADING DATA. The co-worker joins him.

The co-worker flies to his cubicle, snatches the phone.

Villiers opens the door without knocking, M looks up, tired.

Two DOCTORS now hover over the technician, studying the figures racing over the screen.

M and Villiers watch their screen and listen.

Bond pulls out a portable DEFIBRILLATOR, it HUMS as the charge builds... COMBIPENS of different colors spill onto the floor.

Bond does so. Puts his finger on the red button, waits, it still reads CHARGING.

CHARGED. Bond tenses.

Bond reacts.

M listens to the doctors argue.

(Continue to intercut as needed)

Bond jabs himself hard in the neck with the blue combipen.

Bond tries -- but it doesn't fire, one of the leads has come off. He reaches for it, tries to reattach it.

But the VOICE FADES and he blacks out, comes to, blacks out, slipping away.

His eyes flutter open again... and like a dream, VESPER is over him.

He looks up at her. For a moment she hesitates...then bends down and finds the lead, attaches it and fires the defibrillator. A huge jolt of power goes through Bond and he spasms.

Bond exhales. A dying rasp, a breath of life.

Vesper is shaking. Stunned that she just saved his life, she slumps down beside him. Bond recovering now, breathing steady. He finally pulls the syringe out of his neck.

Bond pockets the handheld. Vesper is almost speechless.

Bond smiles and heads off.

Le Chiffre can barely stop his mouth from dropping open as a pale but very determined Bond returns to the table.

LE CHIFFRE

looks most unsettled.

CARDS ARE DEALT

WOLPERT

throws his cards in. All out of money. Gets up wearily. Gives Bond a half-smile as he walks away.

ONLY FIVE PLAYERS LEFT NOW, THE MARATHON SESSION TAKING ITS TOLL ON ALL BUT LE CHIFFRE... More cards... BOND'S PILE OF CHIPS INCREASING...

DISSOLVE FROM ONE PLAYER TO HIS CHAIR BECOMING EMPTY.

EVEN THE DEALER IS EXHAUSTED. He PACKS UP. ANOTHER BREAK.

Bond pulls the red combipen from his pocket. Puts a foot on the sink counter - and jabs the combipen into his leg.

Back at the table. Bond and Le Chiffre preternaturally alert, Infante and Fukutu tired, hitting the espressos.

Bond puts a million dollar plaque in, beside him Fukutu is already in with the small blind: a $500,000 chip.

The community cards are laid down: Ah 6s 8s

We see Le Chiffre's hand: Ac 6h. He already has two pairs. Bond looks at his hand: 7s and another low spade which we don't see clearly. Possible flush.

Fukutu has Ks and Qs. Possible flush.

Infante holds 8c and 8h, so he has three of a kind.

The others match the bet.

VESPER & MATHIS

The next community card is laid down: 4s.

Fukutu looks again at his cards. Goes all in with everything he has left. Nine plaques: $9m.

Everyone matches his bet.

MATHIS & VESPER

BOND AND LE CHIFFRE

eyeing one another.

WOLPERT

comes from the bar to watch...

THE DEALER

deals the last card. The Ace of Spades.

MATHIS & VESPER

As we glance at the cards with Le Chiffre and Infante we see both have full houses - Le Chiffre the better one.

But Infante is confident. He goes all in with his last five plaques.

Le Chiffre smiles at Bond.

Bond stares at the community cards, then back at Le Chiffre.

MATHIS & VESPER:

BOND

pauses a long time. Then counts up his chips and plaques.

THE DEALER

counts up Bond's chips.

MATHIS & VESPER

react, unbelieving.

BACK AT THE TABLE

Le Chiffre eyes Bond. Considers his cards again. Hesitates. Then with a smile, he pushes his remaining chips forward.

A stunned silence in the room. A mountain of plaques and chips on the table.

FUKUTU

shows his spades flush.

INFANTE

beats it, lays down his pair of eights.

LE CHIFFRE

lays his down. Shows his Ace and Six: a full house too. No need for the poker face any longer: he grins wolfishly.

Bond places his cards down. 5s 7s. Le Chiffre grins.

The Dealer arranges Bond's cards over the community cards.

Now it's Le Chiffre's turn to stare at defeat. A SMALL RED GLOBULE APPEARS IN THE CORNER OF HIS EYE. He takes his hanky, wipes it away, looks across at Bond balefully.

Getting up, Le Chiffre pushes past observers as he walks out, vanishes from view.

Bond gets up too. Moves to Wolpert.

Bond moves on to the bar, where Vesper waits.

WE FOLLOW TWO OF BOND'S SPECIAL MARTINIS as they arrive at his patio table, looking out over some water.

It's four in the morning. They have lobster and caviar in front of them. A band is playing in the corner of the club. The lights are low. The place is lit by candles. A few couples are dotted about the tables. It's romantic. Vesper takes a TEXT on her cell, she reads it, then:

She laughs at him and his charming, corny line.

And he loosens up. Her smile fades as her thoughts drift. She fiddles with her necklace.

Vesper exhales, almost a laugh, followed by an ironic smile. A moment, then....

Bond smiles, admits nothing.

The moment is punctuated by a ANOTHER TEXT arriving on her cell phone. She looks at it:

She's gone before Bond can recover. He looks to the waiter.

As he waits, he starts to feel uneasy. He scans the club, looking at the other couples, then his eyes go to the exit.

He gets up. Strides through the candlelit room, a feeling of dread growing... FORECOURT:

Bond quickens his pace, down the steps, staring into the DARKNESS.

Then, to his side - a FAINT CRY. His head spins. In the gloom, a door slams on a DARK SEDAN. The engine growls and the sedan shoots out of the shadows, raking up pebbles as it fishtails off the forecourt.

Bond just catches sight of Vesper in the back before a hand pushes her down.

He runs to the Aston Martin, ROARS after it.

The lead car quickly disappears from sight -- no other cars on the country road, as Bond screams along the two- lane blacktop, twisting through the the countryside, downshifting as he hits a slight hill and stomping on the accelerator so that all four wheels leave the earth. As the front wheels crash down to earth he sees:

VESPER

lying in the middle of the road, directly in his path! She props up on her elbow, sees the car about to make impact!

BOND

throws the wheel to the right.

THE ASTON

veers sharply, narrowly missing her. It hits the ditch and flips, smashing upside down into a tree.

BOND'S HEAD hits the windshield and CRACKS it and he blacks out. We COME UP FROM BLACK as his eyes flutter open... KRATT AND ANOTHER THUG drag him from the Aston. Blinded by the headlights from two cars, Bond's heavy eyes close. BLACKNESS. UNTIL: A KNIFE

digs into the back of his hand; his hand pinned to the dirt by Kratt's boot. VALENKA removes the bloody tracking device and snaps her knife shut. BLACKNESS AGAIN.

BOND'S EYES

crack open as he is pulled into...

THE LEAD CAR

and tossed onto the floor of the back seat. Just before his eyes close again he glimpses LE CHIFFRE climb into the front seat, a cell phone to his ear.

Le Chiffre snaps the phone closed and nods to the driver, who takes off into the night, the second car following. Bond's eyes close again and everything goes BLACK.

The cars brake, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Bond's eyes open as he is dropped on the floor by the two THUGS who dragged him in, his hands bound behind him. The first thing he sees is

KRATT

cutting the seat out of a cane-bottomed chair. Bond's eyes flick to...

VESPER

being dragged by Valenka and another thug to a room at the far end of the basement. The door closes behind them.

KRATT

slices the clothes off Bond's body until he lies naked on the floor.

LE CHIFFRE

leans against a table, filled with the kind of junk one finds in a basement. He has a carpet-beater in his hand.

Bond is lifted naked onto the cane chair, his feet bound.

VALENKA returns.

Le Chiffre spots them, hands them to her and she walks off. Bond catches a glimpse of Vesper with the door open. She sits naked, her back to us. Valenka closes the door.

Sitting across from Bond, Le Chiffre flicks his wrist upward. We hear the impact of the carpet-beater. Bond convulses in agony.

Another flick of the wrist. Bond shrieks and slumps.

He strikes, Bond bites his lip rather than scream.

doesn't cry out.

Le Chiffre goes to hit Bond again. Bond's whole body tenses in anticipation, eyes squeezed tight - but the blow never comes. He opens his eyes to a sadistic grin.

Bond recognizes this harsh truth. HEARS a scream from the room at the far end of the basement. Bond tries not to react.

He brings the carpet-beater up under Bond.

Le Chiffre brings his leg up, kicks Bond square in the chest. The chair tips backwards and Bond's head hits the floor. His world goes BLACK...and as he opens his eyes to fight for consciousness he only sees FLASHES of the following:

Bond sees Le Chiffre's knife flash open. He kneels behind the chair, apparently to slice off his genitals off screen.

Bond BLACKS OUT and we HEAR the sound of a silenced weapon. One shot, then a grouping. Bond struggles back from the EDGE and through a dutched and partially blocked camera we see a man in SHADOWS stride out of the room where Vesper was being tortured. BLACK AGAIN as...

BACK UP and we see Bond's tortured point of view. MR. WHITE, the man with the shadowed face stands over Le Chiffre.

He fires a silenced shot. Le Chiffre disappears from Bond's view. Mr. White fires two more shots down into what we assume is Le Chiffre's head.

White turns to look at Bond. Bond can't keep his eyes open. We drift to BLACK and SILENCE. Then GLIMPSE:

Bond's head must be on its side, as we see what looks like blurred legs moving fast, white torsos, god-awful-hospital- green walls, accompanied by a GARBLE of VOICES: An E.R. NURSE monitoring his vitals, a RESIDENT barking orders, mixing with the HOSPITAL P.A. paging someone. AND VESPER'S SCREAM.

A FACE of another patient, a woman on a parked gurney, stares back at Bond as he passes -- SOLANGE, lying dead, eyes locked on his, her look asking why he did this to her. Bond cranes his head to keep watching. It's the last image Bond sees before he PASSES OUT again. From BLACK we GLIMPSE:

A CACOPHONY of VOICES as the medical team swirls in and mostly out of focus around Bond. A BLURRY NURSE, masked head to toe, puts a mask over Bond's nose and mouth and asks him to "count backward from one hundred." James slips uncomfortably into BLACKNESS. Then GLIMPSE:

A BLUR OF IMAGES...A NURSE pumping James' leg toward his gut, noticing his flickering eyes.

He jabs a needle into James' arm. Notice that Bond's stubble is quite thick. He catches a blurred glimpse of VESPER. She sees his eyes fluttering and moves closer.

Then MATHIS steps in close to her and takes her by the arm. JAMES' breathing becomes panicked.

Eyes close and we're in BLACK again.

FLASHES of blurred images, lights, now interrupt the darkness.

As LIGHT returns with its blurry shapes...

The shapes take focus -- it's Vesper hurrying out of the recovery room. Suddenly MATHIS appears right beside him.

James sees that he is cocooned in hi-tech foil 'sheets' held off his lower abdomen by a blanket of air, with drips and monitors connected to him on both sides.

As Mathis turns and empties the plastic glass, pours in more ice chips...Bond checks the trolleys, spots SCISSORS on a nearby table. He stretches out of the bed for them...

Bond grabs the scissors and goes CRASHING to the floor, his world tumbling upside down and GOING BLACK as everything CLATTERS and SMASHES to the tile around him. OVER BLACK:

Bond opens his eyes to see himself in a robe, a few days stronger, but still weak, sitting in a wheelchair taking in the breeze from Lake Como. Mathis sits opposite him.

He turns, pours liquid from a container, stirs...we only glimpse what he is doing, he could be putting anything in this and Bond knows it.

Bond spots TWO MEN walking toward them along the porch, behind Mathis. Professionals, by the way they walk. They could be coming to kill him or just collect the body.

Mathis' suddenly understands.

Suddenly there's a needle jabbed into Mathis' neck. He tries to mouth some words but quickly passes out. The two men lift him and whisk him through the open door and onto a stretcher, covering him in a sheet. An Mi6 "attendant" in white wheels him away.

James closes his eyes and drifts back to sleep. BLACK. A MOMENT.

Bond wakes in a wooden lounge chair. His stubble has turned into quite a well trimmed beard. Vesper sits beside him, more beautiful than ever.

A moment, now admits.

She climbs onto the arm of his chair and drapes her arms around his neck.

Vesper turns to see Mendel, the Swiss banker, approach with a briefcase. She shifts back onto her own seat, but doesn't try and hide their closeness.

Mendel doesn't crack a smile. He opens his briefcase, under:

She types the number into the encryptor. He turns to Bond:

She looks at him. He smiles. She is touched to point of tears. Forcing them away, she types in P-E-R. Mendel closes the briefcase.

Mendel walks off. Vesper hides the fact that she is a little overwhelmed by the password. Finally...

She shifts back onto her chair, looks at him and speaks the truth with a smile, not a hammer.

Bond considers her, then lifts his hand, crooks his little finger and beckons her closer. She leans in, they kiss tenderly. Now he speaks the truth in a whisper.

Vesper sees the the fear, welling in his eyes.

She looks into his eyes, overwhelmed by this simple, brave declaration, and finally kisses him -- tenderly, then deeper.

RAIN OUTSIDE. The two lovers, locked in a passionate kiss, stumble through the porch door and onto the hospital bed, Vesper landing atop him as the two desperately pull off each other's clothes, their lips parting only long enough for a garment to pass over a head. Bond is now CLEAN SHAVEN.

Vesper's hand slides down across James' stomach. We cut to their faces before her hand finds it's mark. Her coy smile tells us what we need to know, as does James.

He rolls her over and the two tumble recklessly off camera onto the floor, with a clatter of falling trays, a scream and a burst of off-screen laughter. In the foreground another piece of hospital equipment topples as they destroy the room from below screen. The door in the background we've been holding on is flung open and a concerned YOUNG NURSE bursts in. Her face changes instantly when she sees what we can't.

And she disappears with only one furtive glance back. In the foreground an unused IV tree falls and knocks over another tray, resulting in another burst of Vesper's laughter, which quickly turns to gasps of consuming pleasure.

Anchored in a beautiful lonely bay. James climbs up out of the hold carrying Vesper. Both are naked, and damn if James' arms aren't just in the wrong places, so all we get is teased.

Vesper screams as James flings her over the side and then dives in after her.

Vesper surfaces and throws back her hair. James comes up beneath and behind her and wraps his hands around her waist. The two tumble and bob in the water as they talk, the hints of their naked bodies under the rippling water only make this that much more delicious.

As if considering it for the first time:

He swims for the beach; she races him.

James stops at the waterline, rests on the sand. She swims in and pulls herself up onto his chest.

But Vesper is no longer playing the game. She turns Bond's face toward her and looks into his eyes.

Vesper smiles, deeply touched, and reaches for him.

She kisses him deeply.

Vesper steers their small yacht toward the shimmering city in the distance -- VENICE.

Bond types a message into his handheld:

"I HEREBY TENDER MY RESIGNATION WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT."

He presses SEND.

Their yacht motors down the narrow canal. Vesper looks up at a passing building, a subsiding palazzo held in place by floats and an undignified girdle of scaffolding. Something about the image is disquieting.

A tourist in a Panama hat stands near the rail snapping photos, pointing his camera in their direction. When he lowers his camera she sees that his glasses have one darkened lens. Vesper studies him for a moment, then he lifts the camera again and points it just over her head. Vesper turns and follows his gaze, sees a fabulously bedecked wedding party stepping from the church steps into their waiting gondolas. Mystery solved.

James catches her looking at the wedding party and smiles. Vesper blushes and goes back to paddling.

They are naked again and Vesper surfaces from the sheets and covers, playfully fighting Bond off.

Vesper looks at him and then bursts out laughing. James takes just a little offense to this. Slightly defensive:

She snorts she's laughing so hard. Searches the covers:

Which makes James even more defensive, which she finds endlessly charming, seeing this small flaw in this otherwise almost perfect man.

She snaps a photo.

And he goes after her. She scrambles off the bed and out of the endless tangle of covers.

She finds her t-shirt on the floor and tugs it on. Bond props himself against the end of the bed and pulls the covers around him, studying her as she dresses.

As James tries to read her unreadable smile, Vesper's cell phone rings. She finds it in her upside down purse -- checks the read-out. Her face changes for just a second.

Bond and Vesper step out of the elevator, arm in arm. As they walk toward the front door something catches her eye. Bond follows her second glance, notices...

The MAN with the Panama hat and one darkened lens talking to the CONCIERGE. The man turns and heads for the bar.

As they reach THE FRONT STEPS...

They kiss and she takes off toward San Marco Square. Only when she's gone does Bond betray his suspicions. He steps back INTO THE HOTEL.

Bond approaches the concierge and slips him a bill.

Bond walks to where he can see GETTLER, who stands at the bar talking animatedly with a tall man who is showing him a pocket watch. Satisfied, Bond heads back to the elevator.

James' handheld rings just as the doors close. Answering it :

James reacts at his own stupidity and ends the call.

James enters and walks to the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Vesper in the busy piazza. No trace of her, but Gettler, the man with the Panama hat, and his tall friend weave through the crowd. James turns away from the window and looks around the room. He notices Vesper's cell phone on the table. For some reason this strikes him as odd -- she's never left it behind before. His handheld rings and he answers it.

He picks up Vesper's phone, looking at it with curiosity.

This hits James like a sledgehammer, but he betrays nothing.

She plays to a nervous senior TREASURY OFFICIAL.

James thumbs buttons on Vesper's phone.

James disconnects and dials his handheld as he exits the room.

Bond takes the stairs, his legs threatening to give way under him. He searches Vesper's cell for messages.

The latest text message on Vesper's phone reads "WAITING DOWNSTAIRS". The stairwell starts to spin around him.

Mendel taps his computer keyboard.

Bond reads Vesper's text reply: COMING NOW.

James breaks into a full run.

Assaulted by the noise and swirl of the crowd, his blood boiling, Bond careens through the crowds as he approaches Saint Marcos Square. He finds the BANK, looks inside -- no sign of Vesper. He steps back into the square, searching for a trace of her in the crowds. He spots a flash of her dress and an aluminum briefcase disappearing into an alley. He takes off running. Follows her into...

THE MAZE OF CANALS AND ALLEYS

in time to see her disappear on the far side of a canal. James leaps onto the roof of a passing funeral launch, rolls onto parked gondolas and leaps onto the opposite bank. DEEP IN THE BACK STREETS OF WORKING VENICE the part tourists seldom see. Cans of slop are emptied onto a garbage scow. Laundry flaps over rusting lawn furniture, boats lie belly up awaiting repairs to their rotting hulls.

James stops; too many ways to go and no sign of his quarry. Sounds echo all around him, water lapping, children's voices bouncing off walls. Then the distinctive click of Vesper's shoes on stone. Bond slides his Walther from its holster and eases into the pitch black corridor between buildings. He screws on the silencer as he nears the mouth, and sees:

GETTLER AND THE TALL MAN

from the hotel bar stepping in from the opposite direction, approaching Vesper, who waits with the large metal briefcase.

JAMES

steps into the light. The three turn as they hear:

TALL MAN digs for a weapon. Without breaking his stride James puts two slugs in Tall Man's chest, knocking him down. Gettler pulls Vesper in front of him; his stiletto flicks out of its handle and the tips digs into her neck.

Vesper's eyes widen as James raises his weapon to fire. A fraction of a second before he can pull the trigger...

TALL MAN fires his automatic weapon, spraying the courtyard as he rises, revealing a torn shirt over a Kevlar vest.

James dives for cover. Gettler grabs Vesper and drags her into the narrow back alley, along with her briefcase.

Bond under automatic weapon fire, in jeopardy. Loses his silenced Walther in canal; kills Tall Man.

Bond heads off after Vesper and Gettler.

Leads to a dead end -- several buildings open off a tiny square, their facades tied together by wire girdles.

A woman in a nearby window screams at him as he checks the doors. He finds a cracked frame, kicks open the door, steps into darkness and...

...PLUMMETS. He grabs something in the dark, gets his wind back and swings himself back up to the doorframe. Outside the old woman is still screaming at him. Now he knows why.

In the shafts of light coming through the slatted windows, he can just make out that the floors have been removed. Huge inflated balloons lie in their place, to stop the house from sinking while the foundations are repaired. Half goat, Bond navigates the inch-wide stone shelf that lines the walls, all that's left of the floor. Following the distant, creaking sound of swaying metal, he reaches...

THE REMAINS OF A CENTER STAIRWELL

surrounding an elevator shaft - just a black pit below. Looking up, Bond spies the cage swaying two stories above...

James eases his way up the skeletal stairwell frame, searching the shadows for Gettler.

He reaches the top floor and approaches the elevator cage. Vesper lies on the floor, propped against the far wall, her mouth bloodied. She sees the hatred in Bond's eyes.

James slams the accordion elevator door shut.

Vesper's eyes widen. Bond twists in time to avoid the blade in his back. He grabs Gettler and they tumble into the void.

They land on the balloon two floors below, Gettler's knife puncturing the rubber surface. A gash opens, the gigantic air bag splits and the two men plunge into the basement, wrapped in yards of suffocating plastic. THE WHOLE HOUSE CREAKS LOUDLY, a terrible NOISE as...

The place drops a few feet and WATER POURS IN.

BEAUTIFUL SHOT OF THE CURVE IN THE GRAND CANAL: focus on a row of villas -- and the one villa several feet below the level of the others, tilting and sinking...

Gettler slashes at Bond, almost gutting him as the HOUSE TILTS and BRICKS and SUPPORT STRUTS fall all around, threatening to brain them.

THREE STORIES ABOVE - THE CAGE

threatens to break away from the landing. Vesper lunges for the accordion door but the cage gives way, swings hard and smashes into the far wall before swaying halfway back.

A HUGE CEILING BEAM ABOVE

jerks out of its mooring, tips and falls. Vesper SCREAMS as it PUNCHES A HOLE RIGHT THROUGH THE ELEVATOR CAGE.

BOND

hears the crash, looks up just in time to leap out of the way as the beam smashes into the flooded basement.

GETTLER

seizes the advantage, grabbing Bond and pulling him under the surface. The two enemies fight and gouge at each other as timbers, bricks and and jagged tiles puncture the surface of the water and embed themselves in the muddy bottom.

The two surface and scramble to the partially flooded first floor, now at 45 degrees and tilting fast.

ABOVE THEM

The elevator cage swings, smashing the door open. Vesper holds on to keep from falling out as the safety cable threatens to give way.

BELOW

Gettler grabs a shard of fallen timber and drives it into Bond's gut -- not fatally but enough to cause serious pain. Bond screams, falls back, yanks the rough hewn spear out of his side and drives it into Gettler's throat. As he dies, Bond hears the safety cable above give way and the cage fall another ten feet.

James races to the next floor and dives across the divide. Vesper sees Bond working his way around to the open cage door. She uses all her strength to fling herself across the cage and grab the handle. She slams it shut just before Bond reaches it and drives the hook home to lock it.

Bond looks at her; what the fuck is she doing? She forces something into his hand -- the necklace.

Bond yanks at the accordion door, it won't open.

The cable snaps and the cage plunges two stories and sinks.

The house threatens to topple into the canal.

James fights through the murky water, desperately chasing the sinking cage. In the elevator, Vesper sees Bond coming and backs away. Bond grabs the gate and pulls on it with all his might, trying to force it open, desperate to get to her.

Vesper swims across the cage, reaches through the accordion door and pulls James' head toward her. And kisses him.

She breaks away and opens her mouth, taking in water.

Bond reaches through the cage, grabs her and yanks her to him -- forcing the air from his lungs into hers. She frees herself and looks at him. If she could cry under water she would. She opens her mouth again, gulps in the muddy water and drowns herself.

James yanks open the door, grabs her and swims for the surface. As the house falls around them, he finds a ledge, pulls her up and pounds on her chest, madly trying to force the water out of her lungs.

As even their small purchase disappears underwater, Bond finds a window and pulls her out with him onto the shore.

James pulls her onto the cobblestones and seals his mouth over hers, desperately trying to bring her back to life. A crowd gathers, police. Someone tries to pull him away from her -- fails. He bangs his fists on her chest, crying out...

WIDE SHOT - OF THE TRAGEDY

A pair of dark glasses with gold rims drop down in the corner of the frame, held by the unseen man who stands just off screen in extreme foreground. MR. WHITE taps the glasses against his leg, then turns and walks away...leaving Bond for another day.

The same spot where we saw the lovers swimming. Bond's yacht bobs softly in the clear water. He sits on the bow, his portable computer in his lap, an earbud in his ear.

Alone at her desk.

On the screen are the candid photos of Bond and Vesper and their brief time together.

Bond takes this in but doesn't respond. He pulls the plug from his ear and tosses the laptop into the Aegean.

M replaces the phone, knowing she's just sacrificed a man to create a spy, and for the briefest of moments, not necessarily happy with herself.

The laptop shorts out and the last image of Bond and Vesper disappears. It lands on the bottom of the rocky bay.

Bond watches it disappear. He looks down at the few personal items of Vesper's that remain and wonders if he has the strength to throw them in as well.

Then he picks up her cell phone, hits a button, checks the address book...and understands why she left the phone, and is overcome with emotion.

Through the stand of cypress trees we spy a car pull up into the courtyard of a villa. A man steps out with a briefcase, Mr. White. His cell phone rings, he answers it.

TIGHTER SHOT - THROUGH A TELESCOPIC SIGHT

The cross hairs go from his head to his knee -- which explodes as it is struck by a SILENCED ROUND.

ANGLE ON COURTYARD

Mr. White crawls toward the front door, leaving a trail of blood. Feet step into the frame, blocking his path. White looks up to see:

BOND

He flips closed Vesper's cell phone, aims his pistol.

And as the CAMERA screams up to the heavens WE HEAR, for the FIRST TIME, the guitar strains of the FAMOUS BOND THEME.

CUT TO BLACK. CREDITS ROLL.

- THE END -