"RONIN" (1998)

,

Ronin

an original screenplayby

J.D.Zeik

DRAFT: May 20, 1997. (fonnattedto "FinalDraft"v.

July 12 1997)

A BLOOD RED SCREEN- A JAPANESEDRUM starts to play, softly, but tinged with a desperateedge, growing louder, joined by Other DRUMS as a BLACKLEGEND scrolls up: In feudal Japan, the warrior class of samurai.weresworn to protect their liege lords with their lives.Those samurai whose liege was killed suffered a great shame,and they were forced to wander the land, looking for workas hired swords or bandits. These masterless warriors were no longerreferred to as Samurai, they were known by another name:Such men were called Ronin. The words hang on the screenand we hold for a BEAT, and then the DRUMS are cut off by -A SILENCEDGUNSHOT: Thwpfft •.. FADE IN ON:

It's dark, and so it takesus a minute to realize we're MOVING UP STONESPIRALING STAIRS, up up up in what we now s~e is a medieval cathedral. And as we continue MOVING UP something TRICKLES DOWN INTOFRAME - BLOOD. Running thin, then thicker, as we CONTINUETO MOVEUP the stairs and find - A BODY, sprawled awkwardlyacross the stones, arms and legs akimbo, not so much Christ-likeas victim-like. In one hand· the Body holds a GUNhe neverhad a chance to use. In the other - A DARKSHAPE, we can't quite tell what it is. FOOTSTEPSsound .fromabove·and - THE KILLER walks into frame, si.lenced·pistold'anglingathis side. We don't know him, and it's going to be a whilebefore we see him again,·but mark his face because we'll seehim again. The Killer now picks up the dark shape in theBody's hand, and we see it's - A BRIEFCASE. The Killercuffs the Briefcase to his wrist and turns to - TWO MENstanding behind him: subordinates. The Killer shows them theBriefcase.

7HE BODYsuddenly twitches --this guy is not quite dead. The Killer raises his silencedpistol.

A PHONERINGS, replacing the sound of the silencedgun shot we expected to hear.

Rain-slickedcobblestones gleam in a twinkling of streetlight.

The sourceof the ringing. we start to PUSH SLOWLY IN on the phone booth, andas we do we hear the VOICE of an UGLY AMERICAN

A SOCCERMATCH is in progress on a TV which sits above the bar in thissmokey, dim dive.

And now we'rePULLING BACKDOWN THE LENGTHOF THE BAR. We see THREEMEN sitting separately at the bar, paying no attention toeach other. One of these men watches the game with real·interest. The Ugly American talks on from off screen.

The phone is stillringing, louder now, and we're MOVING TOWARDS itwhile lookingTHROUGH ."-NUNSEENPAIR OF EYES, and even as we drinkthis in we're back in -

AT THE END OF THE BAR -LARRY, the ugly American. He's got an obvious attitude, allof itbad. But there's something about the guy -- he's notall bluster, and he has the look of a seasoned tough guywho knowshow to get rough and tumble.

He's big, and yeah he's got a gut, butthe rest of him looks solid.

The one man at the bar who's been watchingthe game turns slowly and gives Larry a long look. Thisis VINCENT: French, hard boiled and solid. ·Charming when hewants to be, which isn't all that often. He gives Larry a longlook and then speaks -

A BEAT. The other two men at tr.ebar,who seem like tough

..,,....

c•.istomer:sthemselves,pretendnot to watchtoo closely, but ~hey'r:einterested: what's Larry going to say? For a moment it seems as if he's pissed, but then suddenlya smile breaks out on his face and he laughs heartily atVincent's remark. Vincent joins in, as do the others. In particular- THE 3.;RTEtlDERlooksrelieved -- he's·tough enoughto toss a bar drunk, but these guys are in a different league. The Bartender laughs with the others, happy to haveavoided a con:::ontationas we go back to -

E:X'::'.THE STREETOUTSIDE

We're almost ON TOP OF the phone booth, the phone isstill ringing as a HANDreaches INTO FRAME and snatches thephone from its cradle.

ANOTHER ANGLE- And we see a woman named DEIRDREon the phone: striking, dark-haired, Irish. She carries herself with the same professional edge as the men inside the bar.

~.

Deirdre listens for a moment to thevoice on the other end,

,.-,-· and before she speaks she senses something- A SILHOUETTE

stands in the shadows of the bar,watching Deirdre. She gives this silhouette a measured glancebefore speaking, her hand creeping every so slightly towardsher coat.

The silhouette steps into a POOL OF LIGHT. This is SAM. Tough, lean, enigmatic. Somebody youmight trust, but whom you'd never cross. Sam returns her lookbefore he speaks.

Sam moves towards the bar, and Deirdre returnsto her phone conversation.

Sam enters and by now the men inside haveall come together at the bar, talking casually, recognizingthey're somehow all here for a reason. With Larry and Vincentwe see - GREGOR,a man from Eastern Eur~pe. His accent ishard to pin down, · but he most definitely has one. Gregorhas the air of an ex- spook, and that's exactly what he is.Lastly we see SWEDE -- blonde, muscular, and somehow blank in the face. No, he's not stupid -- he's a sociopath. Now - Sam looksat the -;roup,which grows quiet as he enters. Finally,Sam speaks.

Vincentturns -.awardsthe others, includingthem in an expansivegesture.

Vincent smilesat Sam's answer, satisfied, andmakes room for Sam to jointhem. Vincent takes a pack of cigarettes,shakes them sothat one sticks out, and offers it to Sam.

Vincentlooks a little disappointed at this aswe go -

THE PAY PHONE makes a sharp noise as it's crackedback into ·thecradl'e: Ceirdre stands at the phone booth, lost in· thought. Then, without warning - Deirdre spins around, pullingTWO Gu~lSfrom inside her coat. The move is fast, performedwith the grace of a professional killer, asDeirdre scansthe horizon, but nobody seems to be watching. Deirdre pocketsher guns and steps into the shadows of the street, thebetter to watch -

THE BAR - And as Deirdre watches the bar we watch her. PULLINGBACKfrom Deirdre, UP INTO THE AIR and then MOVING 'l'RROUGHTO -

LOOKING THROUGH A WINDOW, down onto the street below. Barely visiblewe can see Deirdre. And staring at Deirdre - THE WATCHER. Somebody we're going to see periodically through themovie. Right now he's only a SILHOUETTEwith a well- definedPAIR OF HANDS. And in those hands - A KNIFE. As the Watcherwatches heslowly cleans his nails with the knife, methodically,perfectly. And he watches. First Deirdre, and then turning hisattention to THE BAR. He's especially interested inthe bar.

The BARTENDER is wiping out a lastglass. When this is finished he looks up at -

A TABLE IN THE BACK-

Where our five guys have relocated. Now the Bartender and Vincent exchange a look, andthen the Bartender takes out a set of keys and tosses them -THROUGH THE AIR and they SMWACK into Vincent's hand. The Bartenderand Vincent speak in rapid-fire French, and thenthe Bartender is gone. Sam turns to Vincent.

Vincent takes out his packof cigarettes and offers them around the table -- again,nobody takes one. Vincent seems really disappointed by this.

There's a kind of general look around the table --a nod or grunt of acknowledgement, indicating that allof these men ·,;erehiredthe same way.

I•

3WEDE How so?

LARRY & SWEDE (to Gregor at the sametime) Fuck you!

There is a BEAT. Gregor, swede and Larry look at Sam, who glares them alldown. Lastly, Sam turns and looks at Vincent. The twomen nod at one another, acknowledging a kind of mutual respect.

CONTINUED:( 2)

I""' SAM

The pointremains: we could be working for differentpeople. There's a chance one of us ••• (looks aroundthe table) Maybe morethan one of us -- has been paid to crossthe others. I don't know about youguys, but I like to know who I'm working for. It can help prevent a great dealof .•. (finding theright word) ...unpleasantness.

From OFF SCREENwe hear a new sound: LAUGHTER.ANOTHER ANGLE-

Deirdre hasentered the bar, and she's amused bythis last exchange_.

CONTINUED:( 3)

Deirdrehands out several thick envelopes. Larry and Swede open theirsand stare at the wads of Franc Notesstuffed inside. Even Gregor cracks his envelope andpeaks at his money. But neither Vincent nor Sam takes a look.

Deirdre turn to Sam.

/11"" SAM

Sam. I'm a weapons guy.

DEIRDRE

You were a soldier,were you?

Deirdre gives Sam a look-- and he returns it. Finally ~eirdre turns toLarry.

CONTINUED:(4)

The two men exchangeanother look. A peckingorder is developingamong the group: Vincent and Sam areboth natural leaders,and now they're feeling one anotherout.

Deirdre waits a BEAT, letting Vincent know thatshe isn't any more intimidated by him than he is by her. Finally, sh~ ·turns.to·swedta!.

A PAPER TARGET, in the shape of a human being, dances in placeas it is riddled with GUNSHOTS, each shot hitting the

target in the belly, eachshot fired by - Larry, whose been shooting a sleek automaticpistol from which he's just discharged an entireclip. The gun empty, Larry turns to Sam, who stands next tohim.

SAM

(looking at the target) You shoot alright.

;-;:::hou ta word,Sam popsanew clipinto the gun and SHOOTS T8E LIGHTS out of severalother human targets, hitting each ~arget in a different place. One he clips between the eyes, the next in the heart, one inthe groin, and then the last target - He SPLITS DOWNTHE MIDDLE, firing shot after shot from the head to the groin untilthe target is sheared in half. Larry is impressed in spiteof himself.

My way works too.

IN A CORNER OF THE WAREHOUSE-

Gregor has set up a tableloaded with computers and electronic whizmos. Rightnow Gregor is holding a particularly high-tech typeCELL PHONEin his hands, looking at it almost lovingly.

ANOTHER ANGLE - Deirdre sitsnearby, looking at the cell phone.

From off screen we hear MUNCHING. It's -Larry inhaling a sandwich. A malicious look comes over Swede'sface, who's

CONTINUED:( 2 )

He's been out somewhere,and he looks first at the squabbling men, and then at - Deirdre. She gives Vincent a little nod -- a silent command thatmakes Vincent turn to Sam.

Vincent and Sam startoff, moving towards a door, while Swede and Larry slowly pickthemselves up off the ground.

•

A DESOLATE URBANLANDSCAPE - Sam and Vincent walking away from the warehouse,which is housed in what looks to be the toughest neighborhoodin the city, filled with CHEAPCONCRETE PUBLIC HOUSINGand INDUSTRIALBUILDINGS.

THE SETTING SUN throwsa red glow on the street, giving the raw concrete buildingsa blood-colored tint, as s·amand Vincent approach aFIAT, a car neither too old nor too new. Before they can reachthe car, the two men are intercepted by FOURTOUGHS,young g~ys in their early twenties. The LEADER of the Toughs approachesVincent.

The other Toughs addlib a few tough guy remarks (in French, of course).

ANGLEON THE LEADER- Who's smirking at Vincent and Sam. Sam's words make a greatdeal of sense: the Leader is speaking the universallanguage of "give me some money or I'll kick your ass."

CUT BACKTO: Vincent andSam.

Vincent backfists theLeader inthe nose -- hitting him so hard that the Leader skittersback on unsteady feet ·andthen sits down on his ass. Thisblow hurt, but the real damage is to the Leader's pride. Now -One of the Toughs rushes at Sam, only to have Sam performwhat looks like a jujitsu throw which savagely jerks the Tough offhis feet and flattens him.

CONTINUED:(2)

Sam reachesdown as if to help theTough, who ignores the handand totters to his feet. As soonas he's up he turns andruns away, followed by the otherToughs. Now only the Leaderis left behind. He looks fora second at Vincent and Sam,and then turns and runs afterhis friends. Vincent calls after him in French, butwhatever he says isn't translated. Vincent turns to unlockthe car •

By now the two men are in the car,which starts up and drives off, a~d as it does, we -

Vincent laughs, and Sam looks out thewindow atthe city of Paris as we MOVETHROUGH to the outsideworld of -

A SERIES OF QUICK CUTS ofthe car driving through Parisat night. we don't see familiarsights like the Eiffel Toweror the Arc de Triomph,but instead - we travel through theLEFT BANK, down a seriesof Mazy Alleys which twist and turn, filled with bistros,bars and falafel joints. NEONSIGNS line the streets foras far as the eye can see. Near theend of this trip we hearthe SOUNDOF A MATCH FLARING, followed by -

Vincent is drivingand smoking a cigarette. He tosses·his pack to Sam,but he seems a little surprised at Sam's request.

Vincent stamps his cigaretteout, loo~ing vaguely unhappy th~t Sam has spoiled his smoke.

-.I"" SAM

Exactly. Why not bring them?

~9. CONTINUED: {2)

Vincent, driving allthe while, gives Sam a sideways glance before speaking.

of hired guns out here,and not nearly enough work to go around.

And on that thoughtwe -

The Fiat pullsup to the curb and Vincent and Sam getout. Vincent leadsSam around a corner and they come to -

AN EXQUISITEPARK, a small, perfectly manicured place-- a kind of mini-LuxembourgGardens in the middle of nowhere. When Sam seesthe park, he draws an involuntary breath.

The two men enterthe park, which is, indeed, opento the public. Inside,sitting on a bench in the back, almost invisiblefrom the street, we see - FRANCOIS·,a stubble-faced toughwith a stained shirt and bad teeth. Vincentand Sam draw near. This next conversation between Francoisand Vincentis in FRENCH WITH ENGLISHSUBTITLES.

Vincentsignals for Sam to stop. Both Vincent andSam are still severalfeet away from Francois.

Sam hasn'tsaid a word -- he doesn't seem tounderstand what'sbeen said, but he has noted theurgency with which Francoisspoke. Now - We HOLDFOR A BEAT. Neither Vincent nor Francoispulls out a piece to shootSam. Instead they ·,.;aittoseeifSam will respond in anyway to what Francois said.The conversation now switches toENGLISH, which (it turnsout) Francois speaks fairly well;

•,incentisn ·tgoing to answer, but theoverbearing Francois chimesin.

CONTINUED:( 2)

Francois's French words give Sam pause-- he's wondering what's being said, -is- Vincent movestowards Francois, leaving Sam several steps away. The conversation is again in SUBTITLEDFRENCH.

11"". Frar.cois·givesthe slightest of nods, indicatingthat Vincent should look towards a place perhaps thirtyyards away - A COPSE OF T?.EES,where we see a SNIPER pointinga telescopic rifle at Vincent.

SAM'S POV:Looking at Vincent and Francois.

CONTINUED:(3)

The men aretalking, and from here we can't reallyhear them speak. All Sam can see is an earnest Vincentlistening to Francoistalk, almost as if Francois is givingVincent instructions. Now - Vincent reaches into hispocket, reachingfor the envelope of cash he'scarrying. As he hands the money toFrancois, Vincent uses his freehand to pull out his gun while- Sam already has his gunout -- somehow he figuredout what was going on -- and now Francoislooks on in stunneddisbelief as -

Sam firesa single shot, hitting Francois inthe shoulder, drivinghim away from - Vincent, who now squeezesoff several rapid fireshots at the sniper, while -Francois, bleeding butstill very much alive, now has hispiece free just as - The Sniper,his gun firing wildly intothe air, falls to the ground,shot dead by Vincent, and now -Francois is drawing a beadon Vincent when - Sam hits Francoiswith a fusillade of bulletsin the chest and now - A SINGLE SPENT BULLETCASING fliesthrough the air in SLOW MOTIONand lands on the ground, spinningaround until it comes to a haltand - A HEAVY SILENCE FALLS, as the last echo ofthe last gunshot finally dies. Vincent and Sam look at one another,see that they're still alive, and then look back at -The two men they've shot. Francois isn't quite dead. Blood bubbles from his lipsas Vincent leans over him. Again,they speak in SUBTITLEDFRENCH.

A LONGANGLE- Vincent whispers in Francois's ear,whose grin blanches as he realizes Vincent means to hurt him. Francois whispers something back and then - BANG. Vincent shoots Francois in the head, killing him instantly. Then Vincent bends rtownand retrieves the envelope of money which Francois hadtucked inside his shirt. As Vincent does this, Sam comes up frombehind.

CONTINUED:( 4 )

The two men drive in silencefor a moment. Vincent lights a cigarette and offersone to Sam, who refuses. Finally, Sam speaks.

A BEAT, the two men drivingin silence.

Vincent's Fiat is parked at the curb in frontof this apartment house. Vincent and Sam exitthe car and move towardsthe house -- a silence hangingbetween them. Right before they go into the house, Vincenttakes out the envelope fullof cash that was supposed to havebeen for Francois. He thinks for a moment and then hands thewhole envelope to Sam.

Vincent's voice trails off -- he doesn'tknow what to say. Sam takes the money out of the envelope half he keeps for himself, the other he gives to Vincent.

Sam opens the door to the house, but Vincent hasone last thing to say to him.

Sam almost smiles cynically at this: debts of honor don't seem to be something he believes in.

The enter the houseand the door closes behind them. A second later we hear-

Vincent and Sam sitwith Deirdre in a room, alone. They've told her about thepark, and she seems a little pissed about all of this.

~eirdre shakes herhead in disgust and rises. we FOLLOW HER INTO -

AN ADJOINING ROOM-

Where Larry, Swedeand Gregor are waiting. They look up expectantly at Deirdre,who crosses through the room without stopping -- she's reallypissed about this turn of ~vents.

And she exits, leaving thesethree men behind along with Sam and Vincent, who have enteredfrom the other room. Larry looks at the two of them.

A CAR sits, cloaked in shadows. Inside sits our friend, the WATCHER. Once again we seethe Watcher's knife -- once again he manicures his nails withit, almost delicately, as he watches the House. It'sdark -- a single light glows behind a window on the third floor•.Sam's room.

,,,...... do a martial arts form. Right now he's frozen, one leg

extended in a kick, balancingon the other leg. Now - A KNOCK at his door -- secondslater, it opens. Deirdre stands there, watching as Sam hoidshis position for a BEAT more,. and then retracts his leg.

2E..

Deirdre springsat Sam, throwing martial artscombinations at him: punchfollowed by kick, elbow strike followedby palm thrust. Sam parries her blows as she drives himacross the floor untilhe's got his back to the wall. Their movements are controlled,but powerful, and there's somethingalmost flirtatiousabout the whole thing. Now -

Deirdrethrows one last punch which Sam ducks. He slips behindher and suddenly they square off in earnest. The previousmartial arts stuff was a kind of choreographed exercise,but now - They spar for real -- theynever hit one another,but they come awfully close, hands andfeet whizzing throughthe air, throwing rapid-fire combinationsand techniques. They're not angry, but they'renot kidding, either. Finally - Deirdre feints a punch thatdistracts Sam'sattention from - The KICK she throwsright behind her punch,and she smiles as - WHUMP! Sam wasn't distracted at all --he drops to the ground beneath her kickand catches her standingleg with a sweep which takes herto the ground and now- She's trapped beneath him. The twoof them are breathinghard from the exertion, their facesclose to one another,shining with sweat and excitementand - We"ve gone fromflirting to an almost primal seduction,and with their facesonly inches apart Deirdre leans into kiss Sam, and he's about to meet her half way wr,enhe pullsback.

CONTINUED:( 2)

They finally kiss, slowly andthen building in intensity, and as they start to make love,the

CAMERA MOVES UP - THROUGHTHE BUILDING, floor by floor, until

we've reached -

Deirdre and Sam are notthe only ones indulging in

extracurricular activities. Up here in this rooftop garden we find swede and Gregortalking in hushed tones.

Suddenly Swede pullsGregor down to the rooftop with .aharsh· THUD. Within secondshe has his gun pressed to Gregor's head.

JO.

Swede·is now on his feet, walking away, backinto the apartment house.

And he's gone. And as soon as he is, ·.,enoticesomething strangeabout Gregor: he's not ~he least bit scared-- he laughsa little low laugh as we -

GRAYLIGHT seeps in from the horizon, while inside in -

Deirdreis pulling her dress over her head. Sam seems to be sleepingin his bed as she moves like a cat towards the door when -

Sam'sHANDreaches out, gently yet firmly, and takes her by the arm.

ANOTHERANGLE - Sam is somehow sitting up,wide awake -- lookingat Deirdre with a penetrating glance.

_,-.... blackmail him, sometimes so he could be

killed. (aquick beat) Sometimes so I could kill him myself. IRAisn't exactly an enlightened feminist organization, Sam. To most of the men I worked with I was always the girl. "Send the girl to do it." "Tellthe girl to take care of it," "Havethe girl fuck him." (a quickbeat) But Ilook at you and I get this feeling you take me for what I am: no more, no less.

CONTINUED: (2)

Somewhere io all of this Deirdrehas sat back down on the bed, and somehow now she's onlyinches away from Sam. They're lips brush and -

A MUTED PHONERINGS in a nearbyroom, breaking_the moment. A QUICK BEAT, then -

Deirdre gives Sam a light kisson the lips and then she·opens his door. The muted phone isa little louder now. Deirdre closes Sam's door as she exits,but - Sam reaches out a hand and catches the door rightbefore it snaps shut. He watches THROUGH THE DOORCRACKas -Deirdre crosses the hall and opens the door to her room,and now the phone rings loudly until th~ d9or shuts, muting thesound once again, shutting Sam out. The phone stops ringingas Deirdre answers and as this happens Sam shuts hisdoor and as the door closes we go to - BLACK. Just for a second. And then - BLINDING SUN hits us in the eyes and we findourselves above -

A DAZZLING OVERHEAD MOVING SHOT, establishingthat we"ve changed locales, moved to aplace filledwith sun and blue water and reflective surfaces: theCote d'Azure. We start to MOVEDOWN TOWARDS -

A TOPLESS GRANDMA reclines on a beachchair, soaking up rays, sipping a drink just delivered by ayoung stud of a WAITER. Nearby -

AT A ROUND TABLE -

A nice distance from anyone who might tryto listenin, we find our group: Deirdre, Sam, Vincent, Gregor,Swede and

Larry. Food and drink surround them. Larry is,of course, still eating.

CONTINUED:(2)

t DEIRDRE

(with a quick look atSam) While ..•

Nobody else seemsto notice this look between them, but we stmuld --·if only tonote that there's something about the way Deirdre queriesSam about his role, and some~hing about the way Sam answersher without overly reacting -- they're not flirting, butthere"s a kind of acknowledgment of the history they now havebetween them. But -- nobody else notices, and Swede'sline follows Sam's without breaking the flow of the dialogue.

'ONTINUED)

CON'1'INUED:( 3)

A ROW OF ROOMS,each one with a lightbehind a shade. Even as we watch the light in each room goesoff: one two three fourfive six lights -- one for eachmember of the team. The night before the big event nobodybreaks curfew.

ACROSSTHE STREET -

A BAR -

Through the bar window we see theWatcher's silhouette. A MATCH flares as the watcher lightsa cigarette, REVEALING his face for the first time: weathered,sharp, treacherous. THE MATCH·goes out, and the Watcher'sface FADESTO BLACK, and so do we.

FADE IN ON:

A PRIVATEESTATE IN THE HIμ.5 -

A CARAVAN OF BLACK ARMOR PLATEDCARS, all idling, ready to pull out, filled with muscularmen in suits with bulges under· their jackets, all of themwaiting for - THE TARGET. Except we've seen him before and he wasn"tcalled the Target: he was the Killer from the first sceneof the film: the gunman in the cathedral who made offwith -THE BRIEFCASE. Which briefcase is still handcuffedto his side. Now the Target gets into his car, a BLACKMERCEDES, and as soon as he's in the caravan pulls out and - The Targettakes out his cell phone, punches in a number and startsto talk, and as he does we - PULL BACK, INTO THE AIR, leavingthe Caravan behind as we MOVE TOWARDS THE WATER and -

THE PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS, the long roadwaythat runs the length of the town adjacent to the beach. It'sa special place, a huge road for cars, alongwith a promenade for tourists. Here we come upon -

AN OUTDOOR CAFE -

Where we find Deirdre, a laptop in front of her,wearing a HEADSET. And, lest we think she

looksout of place, we get a look at -

THEREST OF THE CAFE-

Where many ofthe other PATRONS are typingaway on laptops, orchattering like crazy on their cell phones. She types a sentenceon her keyboard, and as she typesshe says it out loud.

Gregor is sitting behind a console, lookingat Deirdre's message, which we can read on his laptop. Gregor also has a much bigger COMPUTER with him as well, and on thisscreen.we see - A CO!U'UTERGRAPHIC MAPOF NICE. This is a map of

Now - THE MAP starts to shift, randomlymoving about the city as it searches for the proper signal. The computer isolates an entire district of the city, enlargesa part of the district, and then locates and enlargesa single street. Now - On screen a FLASHING CURSOR appears on themap, the TARGET. The Cursor starts to move down one of the streetsof Nice and as we follow the Cursor it TURNSINTO - THE TARGET CAR, driving home the point that Gregor is now lockedonto the Target. THE JAPANESE DRUMS we heard in theopening sequence start to play again -- softly, ominously, and we'reon -

Where VINCENT'S FIAT is parked at a curb, Sam and Vincent sitting inside.

Vincent sits behind the wheel, while Sam sits nextto him, loadinga small arsenal of weapons.

The DRUMSgrow, a little louder ·now,a little more urgent.

A VOLVO idles,waiting for something, Larry behindthe wheel of this car,and sitting next to him swede. The DRUMS continue toplay, and their volume is still low,but they're jarring, settingour nerves on edge.

THE CAR PHONErings, and Swede pushes a button. Deirdre's Voice is heardon a speake·rphone.

:

Deirdre looksat her laptop and relays Gregor's instructions. She speaks overher headset as if she's conducting ordinary business -- as ifshe's giving someone traffic directions over the phone. The JAPANESEDRUMS continue, quiet and yet intense.

During this next sequence,the DRUMS will continue to"play, building with the actionas we do -

THE CHASEMONTAGE: A SERIES OF CUTS AS~

The Volvo takes a flying leftturn -

Gregor watches the Targeton his computer as it moves towards the Promenade des Anglais,typing the results on his keyboard.,as - The Volvocareens down a steep hill, hi tsa bump, and flies throughthe air a good fifteen feet, even as - The Fiat follows closebehind and hits the same bump, does the same flight through theair and lands with a thud -

THE CARAVAN of cars -

THE TARGET CAR -

THE TARGET,still talkingaway on his cell phone - THE I COMPUTER MAP trackingthe Target's movements, as the Map

shifts and moves as itkeeps pace with the target, and now

' The Promenade desAnglais is right ahead and the DRUMS build to a crescendo as

The Volvo SMASHES intothe Target Car and they grind together, as

CARS 3 & 4 in the Caravanare cut off by Vincent's Fiat, which forces themto slam to a halt, as

•Larry·runs·the Targetcar to a halt and the JAPANESE DRUMS stop.

Larry and Swede hop outof the Volvo, and Swede brandishes a MONSTER of a MACHINEGUN, with which he opens fire, a blast of huge gauge shells spittinga trail of fire, smashing against THE WINDSHIELDof the Target Car, which is bullet- proof. The wir,dshielddoesn'tbreak·right away -- but the heavy blast of firepowercauses the windshield to buckle,

Sam and Vincent are now outof the Fiat, guns drawn, blazing away at BODYGUARDS,and Christ,there's an army of them, pouring out of Cars 3 & 4.These guys are armed and returning

fire as -

Larry gets out of the driver'sseat of the Volvo, and he's got some kind of sumbitch weapon himself,a ROCKET LAUNCHER, which he points and fires -And now we TRACK THE MISSILE as it scorches the air, traveling towards

The LEADCAR·of the caravan whichhas only now realized what's going on behind it, and as franticBodyguards drive back towards the carnage - The Missile IMPACTS, blowingthe car sideways.

Meanwhile - Sam and Vincent aretaking out the Other Bodyguards, and these guys arewarriors -- they move as a team, each man with a gun inboth hands, using a weapon until it's out of bullets and thendiscarding it in favor of a new one.

And even as this is going on -Deirdre has joined the fray, firing both of her pistols,taking Sam's place at Vincent's side so that Sam can run towards

The Target car, where the Targetis seated in the backseat, pulling out his own piece,ready to fight to the death himself as

Swede continues blasting away atthe windshield with his monster gun, and now - The Windshieldhas started to crack

and splinter, and abruptly,it shatters, instantly bursting a

bright red as Swede'sbullets tear up the body of the Driver.

Now Sam has reached theTarget Car, just as the Target,·who is armed and,·as we know,not exactly helpless, steps out of the car and sights inon Swede and - ZING! Sam fires, winging the Target, knockingthe gun out of his hand a.nd. still the Target won't giveup without a struggle, he hits Swede with the Briefcase.

BANG. swede puts one shotbetween the Target's eyes, ending his lifeNow - Swede takesout a DAI-SHO, the smaller of the two traditional Japanese Samuraiswords.With one slashing blow he hacks off the Target'sHAND AT THE WRIST and grabs the briefcase. The SEVEREDHAND is still caught in the handcuffs, so that it is carriedalong for the ride.Now - DISTANTSIRENS sound from OFF SCREENas Swede moves back towards Larry and the Volvo, andas he goes he raises the briefcase (with its severed hand)in a kind of mock salute to Sam, who starts to move back towardsDeirdre and Vincent, who

have taken care of the remainingbodyguards, and now the

SIRENS are growing c.loseras we -STARTTO MOVE IN SLOW MOTION as swede approaches theVolvoand - Deirdre and Vincent

are already at Vincent's Fiat, waitingfor Sam, and so they don't notice that - A VANhas beenparked nearby this entire time, and now the van's side door slidesopen, and unseen by any of the others - Gregor steps outof the Van, a gun at his side, and a

CONTINUED: (2)

predatorylook on his face as - Swede reachesLarry and the Volvo justas - Sam has reached the Fiat,and now he looks backand sees - Gregor, crossing the street,and now - Sam screamsa warning to Larry, but it'sway too late because - Swede shootsLarry in the neck, hittinghim above the · protectivecovering of his bulletproof vest. Now we're MOVING IN REAL TIME as - Larry managesto get his backu:· piece drawn, a snub-nosed .38, and hefires all six sho'"·' into- Swede, hitting him in the stomach-- it's the same way Larryshot the target in the warehouse. Swede is sent flying backwards, where he crashes to thepavement. For a second we think he's dead, but then he gets up,in pain but alive, just asSam predicted. Swede claws at hisshirt to reveal that he too wears a bullet proof vest. By now- Larry has rolled out of the Volvo, crawling away but tooweak to go far, and now - Swede has Larry in his sights, he'sgoing to kill him.

I don't think so.

swede turns to follow Larry's gaze, andas he does - Grego~ walks INTO FRAME and puts his gun rightbeneath Swede's chin. Before Swede can even compute this,Gregor pulls the trigger, firing straight up into Swede's-brain. Then, without even looKing at Larry, who is lying helplesson the ground - Gregor takes the briefcase and gets intothe Volvo, driving off just as - Sam arrives, kneeling down by Larry's. The SIRENS get louder.

Vincent's Fiat comes peeling to a halt in front ofthem, Vincent and Deirdre inside it as Sam manages to getLarry . into the back seat. Sam doesn't get in the car yet·asLarry says -

CONTINUED: (3)

The SIRENS reacha crescendo as a groupof GENDARMES arrive, chargingwith automatic weapons drawn. Between the French copsand our heroes lies the shot up wreckof the Target Car, and now - Sam takes out a GRENADE,pulls the pin, and rolls itacross the ground, beneath theMercedes, which the cops have just reached. Seconds later- The car EXPLODES,cutting off the cops, and as this happens,Vincent puts the pedal to the floor and gets the fuck outof Dodge. we start to SLOWLY PULL BACK on the remains of thisbattle: the dead bodies, the shot up cars, the broken glass,and that flaming, smoking hulk of a Mercedes in the middleof the street.

The FIREBALLof the car turns intoa BLOOD RED SUN as it sets in the Western sky, tinting the stonebuildings of the Old City a coppery red.•.

We're·MOVINGTHROUGH the Old City,through the twists and turns of what an American wouldcall back alleys but that pass for streets in this place. Itis quiet almost deserted, then - A TESTOSTERONE CRAZED PLAYBOYwhips his sports car through one of these streets, enginewhining, as we - MOVE DOWN yet another side street, and thissucker really is a back alley, you couldn't get a cardown here if you tried. Finally, we come to - A RAT TRAPOF AN OLDBUILDING,·and we PUSHTIGHT on this building aswe hear -

A SYRINGEis plunged into Larry's arm. Sam is tending to. Larry's wound. Sam seems to know whathe's doing, as Larry is also hooked up to a bottle of plasma hangingon a make- shift stand.

Vincent's gun is out in the blink of an eye,at Deirdre"s head, but she's as fast as he is and her gunis draw as well, jammed into his stomach.

CONTINUED:( 2)

ANOTHER ANGLE- Sam has the two of them coveredwith his gun - - an interestingmoment, because he can shoot eitherDeirdre or Vincent,but not both at the same time. The questionis: whose sideis he on?

A BEAT. And then•Vincent and Deirdre lower theirweapons, followedby Sam.

Sam's look isn't romantic, but it implies a levelof trust based upon their physical intimacy.

CONTINUED: (Ji

CONTINUED:(4)

·.I"""" recently. When he was aspy he lived the

life -- you know, a princein some Eastern Bloc country wherenobody had shit and Gregor had everything. Then the wall goes down. No more coldwar. And Gregor is out of a job.No apartment, no special stores with we·sternfoodand video tapes. I would betdollars against shit that Gregor liked thatphone and he doesn't want to give it up. And I wouldn't be surprised if he'sarrogant enough to think•••

Deirdre and Sam share the slightestof conspiratorial smiles as they realize they're both thinkingthe same thought: they- might still win this one. ·

We're on perhaps the MOSTBEAUTIFUL STREET inall of France: the Cours Mirabeau in the town of Aix.

Outdoor cafes line the siaes of the street,while a canopy of interlocking trees covers everything. Now we're - MOVING, DOWN THE STREET, towards a CAFE, wherea DAPPERGENTsits, sipping a mineral water. The Gent hasa SATCHEL at his feet.

I Now - A J'EEPpulls up to a nearbycorner and idles in

neutral. The Dapper Gent throws some billson the table and gets up, crossing to - The Jeep. A door opens, and the Dapper Gent, carrying his satchel,gets into the jeep, which drives off as we -

I '

Gregor and the Dapper Gent drivein silence for minute, down the length of the Cours Mirabeau.

The Dapper Gent also has anaccent, a much thicker one than Gregor's; it's an accent thatplaces the Gent as a resident of what used to be called theSoviet Union.

(he can wait no longer) Do you have it?

you, you could never wait foranything.

Gregor, still driving, takes out a SILENCEDPISTOL, and the Dapper Gent reaches for his own piece.

The DapperGent lowers his hand, leaving hisgun in his coat. Gregorpulls the van to a curb.

GREGOR& THE GENT'S POV: THROUGH THEWINDSHIELD - A GROUP OF CHILDRENare playing.

I We find one particular LITTLE GIRL, aroundeight, holding the end of a jump rope, wearing a light bluedress. She's breathtakingly beautiful, and now -Gregor raises his silenced pistol, as if to shoot her.

Gregor pulls the trigger, as he doesso the Dapper Gent jogs his arm, and we -hearthe soft thwpfft of the silenced spot just as th·e·shotgoes off - Missing itsmark, harmlessly shooting into a tree, causing a SINGLELEAF to float to the ground behind the playing.children. Nobody notices a thing. BEAT. The Dapper Gent is visibly shaken,because there is no doubt that Gregor would have killedthe Girl if the Gent hadn't ruined his aim.

A FULL MOON casts a silverlight over a field of wild grass. A soft wind blows,and the grass moves gently from side to side. Now ..Gregor• sJEEP glidesdown this road as we MOVE THROUGH TO -

Gregor smiles --he's been waiting for this.· He pulls the jeep over and looksat the Dapper Gent.

-~ GREGOR

As my American friendLarry would say: are you fuckingdeaf? It's under your seat.

The Dapper Gentlooks down, and sure enough, the edge of the Briefcase sticksout beneath the seat.

With a laugh theDapper Gent hands his satchel to Gregor, whose eyes literallydance with the prospect of his reward. He can't help himself,he opens the satchel and there it is - COLD HARD CASHin largebills, enough for Gregor to live like a prince for quite sometime. Gregor sucks in an involuntary breath and then looksback up to see - The Dapper Gent hasn't reached for the Briefcase. Instead he's taken out ~is gun,· and it's only inches fromGregor's head.

The Dapper Gent yanksout the Briefcase, and as he does -

THE SEVERED HAND comeswhipping out along with it, still

I attached by the handcuffchain. The Hand flies up in the I Dapper Gent's face,and we notice that the Hand is starting I to rot -- it's bloatedand swelling and horrific and it I scares the shit outof the Dapper Gent, who drops his gunand

fumbles with the Briefcaseas - TWHPFFT•.• we hearthe sound of another silencedshot as we -

I

A DARK STAIN splashesagainst the passenger side window of the jeep. Secondslater - The door swings open, andthe Dapper Gent'sbody plunks out onto the ground. A moment later, somethingwet and viscous plops down on the faceof the Gent as the jeepdrives off. Now - we HOLDFOR A BEAT on the DapperGent's dead body, _whichlies in the silver moonlight, bloodrunning out from beneath him, while the Severed Hand palmsthe Gent's face, fingers splayed out· around his head. Now - we HEARthe sound of PHONETONES •

Gregor finishespunching a number into his CELL PHONE. we hear a singlering on the other end of the phone before it is picked up.

BEAT. The PhoneVoice doesn't respond for a moment-- whoever this is they didn'texpect to hear from Gregor. The Voice switches to English.

so.

BEAT.

The Phone voice says somethingunintelligible in Russian, cut ..,..., off by Gregor as he angrilysnaps off his cell phone and we -

Larry snores on the couch,while Deirdre sleeps in a sleeping bag on the floor. Vincentsits in a ratty easy chair, feet propped on an overturned crate,dozing lightly. Suddenly - Vincent's eyes open, warily,as if something has changed in the room. He looks around -No Sam. Vincent gets up, takes out his gun, and silently getsto his feet. He moves down a long hall and - No Sam. Now, likea cat, Vincent moves into -

THE BATHROOM: pitch black. He movesin, swipes the string of the overhead light and - nothing. Nobody's here. The only place left is the front door, andnow Vincent approaches. He opens the door, gun still at the ready,and moves out into -

This is a small building. ·rhereis oneother apartment on the floor. At the far end of the landing,there is.asmall ladder, which leads up to -

THE ROOF. And the door which leads to theroof is flapping ina light wind.

Vincent bursts onto the roof, gun straightout, finger on the trigger, only to find - Sam is there,his gun pointed at Vincent. A BEAT, then both men give littlelaughs and put their weapons away, like Samurai so trainedin combat that they know when it's safe to relax.

In answer Sam takes out Vincent'spack of cigarettes and tosses them back to hLT:, Vincentlooks almost delighted at this.

Sam considers for a minute, and then takes one. Vincent does so as well, and he searches for his lighter,which hecan't see~ to find, because - Sam has it, and he lights their cigarettes, and then hands the lighter back to Vincent.

BEAT. The twomen smoke in silence, looking out at -

THE CURVEDSHORELINE OF NICE -

Which glitterswith thousands of lights from the apartment buildings,and a thousand more from the cars that travelon the roadthat leads into town: the Promenade des Anglais.

· BACKON s·amand Vincent.

This conversation might have gone further,but it is interrupted when Deirdre pokes herhead up onto the roof.

away. (toVincent) There's someone on the phone downstairs asking for you, and my somewhat lilllited French leads me to believe that he might have something to tell us about Gregor.

A car we haven't seen before, a CITROEN,hums up the French highway in the night, alone on the road. It'sa postcard moment, but only for a moment.

Deirdre is driving,and Larry -- much to his chagrin -- isin the passenger seat,watching her every move.

IN THE BACK SEAT -

Sam and Vincenthave a MAP spread out. Vincent is tracing Gregor's routeso far, and we follow his RED MAGICMARKER as it traces a lineup the highway.

Sam runs hisfinger along the_length of the highwayon the map. Destination:Paris.

: SAM It's Paris. The route's too indirect for anythingelse. A guy like Gregor, he doesn'twaste ti.meon this road unless he has to beon it in the first place. Otherwise, he'dbe out of the country by now. He'sgoing to Paris. (beat) Now I just hopewe can find him before he gets there.

orange, pronounced "Au-Ronge",is a mid-sized town of fifty thousand souls. Itis small, charming, quaint, and it has one particular thingthat no other town in France canclaim -

AN ANCIENTROMAN THEATER that has been painstakingly restored. We see this Roman Theater from the outside,as we MOVE THROUGH thestreets of the town, to the TOWN SQUARE. It's packed --every seat in evecy outdoor cafe is filled with a touristhaving breakfast. This normally quietplace explodes onemonth out of the year, when an internationally famous musicfestival is held in the ~oman Theater. We come upon -

A TABLEOF AMERICAN TOURISTS: a Family. Dad is angryat Mom.

You know,Andrew Lloyd Weber, Cats, that kind ofthing.

Mom and Dad continuetheir discussion, but we"ve left them behind,MOVING THROUGH the seats and cafes until we get toa cafeon th~ outskirts of the Town Square. Here, in the most removedta~Le in the entire square, we find Gregor sitting in the shadowof a trellis. Unless you're on top of hi..myou can't seehi.~,but he can see everything perfectly. His cell p~one sitson the table in front of hi..m--he picks it up and starts topunch in a number.

THE CITROEN isparked among a number of other cars. Sam is sleeping inthe back seat, while Vincent is seen on an outdoor payphone at the other end of the parking lot. Deirdre andLarry sit at a nearby picnic table, eating French fast food,which we get a good look at as we - PAN THE LENGTH OF THE TABLE, whichis covered with pasta, grilled sausages with dijon mustard,really good fried potatoes.

In fact, everything that's on thistable is so far beyond the imagination of your average Americantruck driver that Larry can't contain himself. He's stuffinghimself, washing everything down with the winewhich is also sold at these road-side rest stops. Deirdredrinks coffee.

Is the rest of Europe likethis?

about their food. But try bloody Britain, anywhere in the U.K., you don't getmuch fancier than a deep-fried

bar egg. Food's notour thing, you see.

CONTINUED: (2)

CUTAWAY TO REVEAL:Vincent -

Who has finishedhis phone call and returned to jointhem.

Vincentraps lightly on the car window •.next toSam'shead Sam's eyesshoot open: a light sleeper. All eyesare on Vincent,who waits for a BEATbefore he reveals hisnews.

·Gregor.is··seated..:.herewe saw him last--atthe little·table I"'. in ~hecorner cafe. He's been here for hours, observingthe Town Square,and now, he "finallysees what he's·been looking for -TWO MEN, definitely not tourists here for themusic, haveentered the square -- everything about these twoguys . screamsGUNMEN. Now, as Gregor watches - A FUNKED-OUTTEEN comes up tothe men and hands them a small envelope. The Gunmen lookaround the square, trying to see where Gregor is, but he'stoo far back in the shadows. The Gunmen ask the Teena question, to which the Teen can only shrug his shoulders. Now - The Teen walks away, leaving the Gunmen to openthe envelope and look at its contents, which are quickly read. From OFF SCREEN we hear the sound of Gregor punching in a numberon his cell phone. Simultaneously, the Gunmen finishreading the instructions Gregor has sent them, and turnaround to face - A PAYPHONE. The phone rings, and one of theGunmen goes to pick it up.

The Citroenpulls into town and slows to a crawl, cruising the streets,looking for Gregor.

Vincent stares out of the window andsees something that causes him to swear under his breathin French. It's -

The Gunmen, walking down the street.

Sam frowns: he also seems to recognizeat least one of the gunmen. None of the others inthe car notice Sam's reaction, but we do. The Gunmen are headingstraight for -

THE MID-AFTERNOON SUN shinesdown on the open air Roman Theater. The theater itself isalmost two thousand years old. A semi-circle of seats surroundsa huge Stage Wall, a massive structure which isone of the best preserved of its kind in the world. THE GUNMENenter at the bottom of the theater, holding ticket stubs. They are with a Tour Group led by an ANCIENTGEEZERwh_ospeaks in rapid-fire French. AS the tour moves of~ to see theStage Wall, the Gunmen hang

back; and then separate fromthe crowd.

THE CITROEN sits at a curb. Larry sits behind the wheel of

the car, the getaway driverwith the motor running. Vincent

and Deirdre are alreadywalking towards the Theater. Sam

stays behind for a secondto say something to Larry.

And on that note Sam follows afterVincent and Deirdre. Larry doesn't notice it, but - THE WATCHERhas found them. He's a block or so away, wearing atwo-day stubble of b~ard

and hugging the shadows of back alley. Cradled in one hand,

barely visible but ominously present:his knife, which for one moment catches a glint of sun thathits our eyes as we -

The Gunmen have reached a pointabout midway up the coliseum- like staircase. Behind themwe can see the Tour Group, standing on the stage, being lecturedto by the Ancient Geezer. In front of them theGunmen find -

AN EXIT which leads to an interiorhall. Inside the exit it's dark, while a bright sun fallsdown on the Gunmen. They look into the dark, unable tosee a thing, while a voice comes at them from out of thedark.

IN THE HALL -

ON GREGOR. It's dark in here. There are no lights, no torches. From the dark in here,he can look out and see -

THE GUNMEN, who make plaintargets, backlit as they are by

the sun. Now we CUT BACKAND FORTHbetween these two ANGLES, and it becomes clear thatGregor has chosen wisely -- he can

EDVARD,the more dangerouslooking of the two Gunmen responds.

A GUN CO~ES INTO FRAME,trigger cocked, the barrel.placed to Gregor's temple. ·.I""

Gregor stiffens,as we PULL BACKON Sam, who has snuck up on Gregor and gottenthe drop on him.

CUT TO THE GUNMEN'S POV:Looking into the Tunnel - It's dark, they can't see a thing,but they've heard Sam's voice and they know something'swrong.

CUT AWAY TO REVEAL: Deirdre -

CONTINUED: ( 2)

She'ssnuck up on the Gunmen, weapon drawn.

The Gunmen reach for their pieces, andas they do -

CUT AWAY TO REVEAL: Vincent - And hispiece is also out -- the Gunmen are trapped, and theyknow it. Now we notice that - The Ancient Geezer and his TourGroup are coming towards us. Meanwhile, back in -

THE TUNNEL -

Sam is grilling Gregor furiously,his gun still to Gregor's head.

Suddenly Gregorruns forward, towards the exit. Sam runs after him,tackling him just as they reach - THE OUTSIDE, where the twomen roll into plain sight of - The Gunmen, who are still coveredby Vincent and Deirdre. Nowwe notice - That the AncientGeezer and his Tour Group are reallyclose, no more thanten yards away, as - Sam has Gregorpinned face first on theancient stone of the theater. He looksup at the others,and that's when it happens - Edvard looksat Sam and recognizeshim.

InternationalPolice. He's a cop. A SLOW MOTION BEAT. Vincentand Deirdre don't know what to make of this,their heads turnto look at Sam, and in this instant - The Tour Group walksinto their midst and - The 2nd Gunman reachesfor his pieceand ~ s.am FIRES hisgun at the 2nd Gunman, andwith

· thesharp·reportof the pistol we move back to REALTIME, as -

The Crowd panics,screaming, and now Edvard is reaching for his weapon,as - Sam shoots again, killing the·2nd Gunman, and now -The Crowd is still screaming and running as - Gregor shovesthrough the crowd into the exit, as -

Deirdrepushes through the crowd, and now she's made it into the tunnel. Now we go -

)uTSIDETHE THEATER -

Where Larryhas heard the shot -- his piece is drawn, but he's beenordered to stay in the car. In frustration he slams on thesteering wheel, as we see that - Behind Larry, the Watcher isslowly closing in, knife poised to strike as we go back -

INTO THE THEATER-

Edvard tries to getto the exit, but there are too many Tourists in hisway, and he proceeds to shoot several of them,·including theDad we saw earlier. Seconds later, Edvard has vanishedinto the tunnels, _and now- Vincent and Sam meet in the middleof the crowd. There is time for a QUICKBEAT, while Vincent glares at Sam.

And nowSam runs into the tunnel, after the others,leaving Vincent fora fraction of a second to sigh, and thenfollow Sam into-

I

THE TUNNELS-

I I It's likebeing in the tunnels and ramps of a sportingarena.

Exceptthat everything here is made of stone andthe only lightcomes from the sun which streams in throughthe exit openingswhich are spaced far enough apart thatthey provide justbarely enough light for us to see. Nowwe do a SERIES OF QUICKCUTS- Sam running, followed by -Vincent, while - Edvardtakes a wrong turn down a dark hall and comes toa deadend. He turns around, looking for a wayout as - Gregor seesthe final exit ahead of him as we go -

OUT IN THE STREET.- Larryis still behind thewheel of the Citr~en, anxiously looking at the exit, not realizingthat

"I""'

The Watcher is almost on him, and now we're back-

IN THETUNNELS -

Deirdre comes running around a corner, and now she'salmost reached the exit as -

OUT INT~E STREET -

G~egor hits the street running. He doesn't noticethe Citroen parked ahead, because he's never seen itbefore, but ashe runs by -

The car door swings open and Gregor runs straight into it. He smashes into the door and falls to

theground, injured. Strong Hands reach out of the car and pullhim in. It's the Watcher, and let's give him a name now,because he needs one: SEAMUS REILLY. Seated in.the front seatis - A very dead Larry. Seamus has cut his throat from earto ear.

THROUGH THE BACK WINDOW- Deirdre appears, exiting the

theater and runningtowards the Citroen as we go backto -

Vincent, gun drawn,moves warily down one of the tunnels. Outside we can hearthe dim sound of an·approaching siren. Vincent turns a cornerand - A GUN jams itself into his face.

It's Edvard.

Edvard's finger tightensaround the trigger, when -

Edvard is startledby the sound of Sam's voice. Even as he squeezes off the shot,Edvard turns to look at Sam, and as he does so, Vincent strikesout at the gun, sending the shot awry, causing it to -RICOCHET wildly, whining around the room, until it - Ripsthrough Sam's side, a nasty wound but not fatal, as - Edvardtries to fire another shot but it's too late, becanse -Vincent fires a single shot to the head that kills Edvard.

Deirdre has reached the Citroen. She looks in and sees Seamus and Gregor. Lastlyshe looks at the dead Larry. She sighs in disgust, but otherwisedoesn't react as if surprised.

SCANTSECONDS LATER -

Larry'sbody hits the street as the Citroen drivesoff, Deirdre behindthe wheel just as - Sam and Vincentrun out of the theater,with Vincent helping a wounded Sam who bleeds from thewound in his side. They arrive at thestreet only to see -Larry, lying dead in the street, evenas the Citroen speeds awayfrom them, turning the corner beforethey can even thinkto raise their guns.

Sam isn'teven capable of saying that much --he juststares after thedeparted Citroen with a look on his faceunlike any we"ve seenin the film: ·"how thehell did thathappen?" But there'sno time to ponder this because they'vebeen joinedby - A COP. He's a local guy, he directs trafficand busts drunks inthe town square -- and he's scared shitless, · holdingh1.sgun in both hands, trying not to tremble,as he staresback at - TWO GUNS, Sam's and Vincent's,and they're both pointedat the Cop. LONG SEAT. In theway off distance, anothersiren can just be heard. Sam andVincent glare at the Cop,who strains with all his might to controlhimself, but hecan't because Sam and Vincent are deathwaiting to be served. The Cop knows he has three seconds tomake up his mind. Two. One. The Cop puts his gun on theground and stepsback, raising his hands in the air. Now -Sam and Vincentstumble into the street, and are instantly almost hit by -A CAR speeding around the corner, its Driver oblivious towhat's going on. The car screeches to a halt, and the Drivercurses loudly in French. And then the next thing the Driverknows - A Gun is in his face. The door is yankedopen and theDriver is yanked out, as we -

The townof Orange is just visible below us as the commandeeredcar drives up into the hills. Vincent is behind the wheel, whilethe wounded Sam sits in the passenger seat.

Gritting his teeth,Sam peels back his shirt to get a lookat - THE WOUND, and it'ssmall but bad -- the ricochet rippeda small raw holein Sam's side. The wound bleeds, but moderately so-- no major organs or arteries havebeen hit.

·r-

6i.

CONTINUED:( 2 )

BEAT. Sam takes out his own pack of cigarettes,offers one to Vincent and takes another for himself. They smoke for a second,before Vincent speaks.

CONTINUED:(3)

Sam gives Vincent a look andshakes his head in disbelief -- Vincent's loyalty and senseof honor is something he's never seen before, and Sam can onlysmoke in silence and consider this as we - ·

A PEEPHOLEslides open, andwe look through it into -

where Gregor sits, bound andgagged in a chair, his eyes wide with fright. Now - The Peepholesnicks shut, and Deirdre turns to face Seamus Reilly.

Seamus's taunt works: Deirdrewhips out her gun and puts it to his head.

Seamus glares at Deirdre fora moment, ·and sheglares back at him until he starts to laugh.

Deirdre glares a moment more .and thenputsaway her gun.

Deirdre gives Seamus a lookto make sure this last point is clear and we -

The Stolen Car parks behinda BARN, and Sam and Vincent get out. Waiting for them is a friendof Vincent's - JEAN- PIERRE, a Frenchman in his forties,hearty, burly, friendly.

SURGICALIMPLEMENTS - Are laid out on a clean cloth. Scalpel, forceps,a clamp, a sponge, medical thread and needles. We PULL BACKTO REVEAL: Sam, stretched out onthe kitchen table. Around him we see - Vincent and Jean-Pierre, who are wearing rubbergloves and examining Sam's wound. Jean-Pierre holdsa mirror up so that Sam can see what's going on. Sam, withhis medical training, is treating himself.

Sam is in terriblepain, but necessity dictates that he focus on what's goingon so that he can talk Vincent through this next procedure.

During this nextsequence, we CUT SACK AND FORTHbetween Sam's reactionsto the surgery, and the mirror itself where he's watching.

Vincent pours a healthysplash of rubbing alcohol onto the wound and - Sam gritshis teeth as the pain explodes up his. central nervous system.

Jean-Pierredoes as Sam says, wiping away theblood that keepsfilling the wound. Throughout theprocedure Jean- Pierrewill to do this; every time thesponge is saturated he squeezesthe excess blood into -A BUCKET which sits on the floor,slowly filling up with drippingsfrom the sponge.

Vincent picks up the clamp.

Vincent attaches the clamp to Sam'swound. It takes perhaps fifteen seconds, and everyone of thoseseconds is agonizing forSam. He sweats-, .hegritshisteeth,·he grunts the

done;

Vincent probes the wound with the forceps. This takes probablythirty seconds, and it hurts even more then when the clampwas attached.

(CONTINUED}

CONTINUED:(2)

Several times - Vincent seems tohave the bullet in his grasp, but it slips, and each timeit slips - Sam makes the smallest of noises, as if to indicatethe level of the pain. Finally - The forceps firmly graspthe bullet, and with a single tug, Vincent extractsit.

He tosses the bullet throughthe air, and we FOLLOW IT IN SLOW MOTION as it lands in- A SAUCER,which sits on the kitchen counter. We'reback in REAL TIME, as the bullet rolls around the plate fora second before coming to a halt. Now - Sam breathes thehugest of sighs, and his face relaxes. Instantly, Vincent putsa lighted cigarette in Sam's mouth, and he drags deeplyon it.

And that's exactlywhat he does.

Vincent and Jean-Pierresit on easy chairs. An open bottle of wine sits between them,a FIRE burns in the fireplace, and they smoke in a contentedsilence for a moment. When the speak, it is in FRENCH,with ENGLISHSUBTITLES.

VINCENT? Yes, Sam's tough alright.

I (beat)

He's a cop?

I I VINCENT

(beat,trying to find a way to say it) Not exactly.

Bothmen stare back into the fireplace and we HOLDFOR A BEAT beforewe -

Sam isawake. Pale from the loss of blood, he moves softly aroundthe kitchen, searching professionally for something, giving themoment a slightly dangerous feel because he seems so intenton what he's doing and then he finds it - THE COFFEE.

TENMINU'!'ESLATER-

A stream ofHot Coffee mingles with a stream of Steamed Milk.

A STEAMING CUP OF COFFEEsits in Sam's hands as he lightsa cigarette to go withthe coffee. He sits on an ancient chair, smoking in silence,looking out at - THE WOODS around the house, and thisplace is postcard-beautiful, the French Farmhouse you seeonly in pictures. But Sam's mind is elsewhere, he's staringinto space, lost in thought.

ANOTHER ANGLE - Jean-Pierrestands in the open frontdoor of the farmhouse,with a cup of coffee. Now, Jean-Pierremoves out to join Sam,sitting down on another chair oppositehim.

JEAN~IERRE (Cont'd) this job, hisagent, if you will. He is one of my oldestfriends and I owe him a great debt,much like the debt I suspect he owes you.

INSIDE THEFARMHOUSE -

Where Vincenthas just poured himself a cupof coffee and lit a very satisfyingcigarette when he hears thevoices from outside.

Vincent looksup when he hears his name and hemoves towards the soundof the voices.

,,.._.

SACKON THE PORCH-

And now Jean-Pierreproduces a LONG BARRELED REVOLVER which he places looselyin his lap -- a gesture which seems to say,

"you'd better explain thingsto my satisfaction or we're gonna have a problem." Sam noticesthe weapon, but he doesn't react overtly.

BEAT. Sam looks at theRevolver again.

QUICKCUT TO: Vincent -Who stands inside the house, out of

sight, but not out ofear shot. He's listening to

everything, and we noticethat Vincent has taken out of his

BACKON Jean-Pierre andSam. By now Jean-Pierre has raised the pistol. He doesn'tpoint it at Sam, but his finger cocks the hammer.

77 • CONTINUED: (2 )

LONGBEAT. something in Sam's speech touches Jean-Pierre. He relaxeshis finger on the hammer.

BACKON-Vincent - Who relaxes his grip on his gun.- BACKON

..,..._ Sam andJean-Pierre - And we're PULLING BACK,AWAY fromthe

Farmhouse,which glows in the morning sun aswe -

A BLACKCOMPACT CAR sits in front of a Parisian PostOffice. Insidethe car, behind the wheel, we see Deirdre. Now, comingout of the Post Office, we see - Gregor and Seamus Reilly. Seamus has a coat slung over his arm, hiding the gun whichhe keeps pressed to Gregor's side. There"s no signof the Briefcaseas Seamus and Gregor get into -

THUNK! The door slams shut. Gregor and Seamus are in the back seat. Almost instantly Seamus angrily snaps a pair of handcuffson Gregor. Immediately, Deirdre pulls out.

Would somebodytell me what fucking well happenedin there?

I

SEAMUS

I

(disgusted) Nothing.

SuddenlySeamus seems to lose it. He grabs Gregorand slams a gun againsthis .head•

BEAT. For one tension-filled moment, we think Seamus is going to splash Gregor's brains all over the place. But then hesmiles, puts his weapon away, and pats Gregor gently on <:heface.

Gregor isbeyond speech -- he can only whimper.

CONTINUED: (2 )

Seamus smiles a smilethat is more than a little bit sadistic. Neither Gregornor Deirdre smiles in return aswe -

THE EIFFEL TOWER fillsour eyes. And then we PULL BACKTO REVEAL that it's a tacky,flyblown poster on a dingy street. And now we're -

MOVING DOWN the Street,until we come to a store whose sign advertises in English- HONG KONG MOVIES. The windows of the store filled withposters. We MOVE THROUGH TO

TONYSIMON, an.expatriateblack American, runs this place and lives ~bove·it. Hisshelves are lined with action films·made ,-...,, in the Far East. Tony knows everything there is• toknow about the films hesells -- but he also knows quite a bit about what's goingon in the Parisian Underworld. He"s a professional informationbroker. Right now he's talking to a CUSTOMER in perfectFrench, with English Subtitles.

Vincent and Sam have enteredthe store. Sam's ability to be back on his feet in sucha short time is amazing -- but we can see that he's not the same guyhe was at the start of the

film. What he does from here on inhe does by sheer force-of

will. Now - Tony moves to join them,and the conversation

immediately turns to English.

I I I TONY I Doingwell.

(witha look at Sam) Thisis?

I VINCENT

I A friend. I was telling him about how

you always have the latest tapes.

Tony's office, it turns out, is the areabehind the COUNTER. Tony raises a section of the counter thatallows him to get tothe other side, and then he closes itbehind him.

TONY

,,....., ·sowhat·can I do ·foryou?

Vincent checks out the store before he startsspeaking. The place is empty except for - The single CustomerTony was just talking to. The customer is still consideringthe two f1lms Tony was showing him.

CONTINUED:(2 )

I"' RussianMob and the IRA in bed together.

An unlikelygroup of partners.

The Customerapproaches the counter. He hasboth tapes with him.

The Customer exits, smiling and carryinghis tapes -- what a great fucking deal he just got! A few secondslater, Tony comes out and locks up the store front. He crosses the street towards

A HUGE FALAFEL drips lettuce and tahini saucefrom its end. We PULL BACKON - Tony, who's just takena bite out of the falafel. He sits at a table in the backwith Vincent and Sam.

Causethe Russian production company would be easier to find.

Tony scribblessomething on a piece of paper.

CONTINUED:(2 )

Sam reaches for the piece ofpaper, but Vincent puts his hand on top of it.

/I""', TONY

I gotta try and overchargehim, he has to moan about the price, we settlesomewhere in the middle.

Sam smiles slightly and rises from thetable, moving towards the exit. Behind him in rapid fireFrench, Tony and Vincent are now discussing the price of theinformation. They are both loud and abusive, and obviouslythey're enjoying themselves immensely.

Vincent exits the shop and gets into -

Where Sam sits in the passenger seat as Vincent, slides behind the wheel. Vincent tosses Sam a piece of paper.

Vincent givesSam another piece of paper •

What's this?

Vincent startsthe car and we -

CUT TO.:

The Peugeotsits, parked at a curb, a discreetdistance from -

_AN APARTMENT HOUSE: 35 Rue de Glacon. we PUSH IN onthe -

A PIECE OF PAPER scrawled with the same address: 35 Rue de Glacon. We PULL BACK TO REVEAL -

Sam,holding this paper and looking out at the apartment complex.

BEAT. Vincent wants to know something important.

LONG BEAT. Sam considers what tosay, and then decides he owes Vincent the truth.

CONTINUED:(2)

I VINCENT I I know. Jean-Pierre did.

I SAM

You werebehind the door?

_SAM You wouldhave done that?

Their POV: Through the Windshield - Deirdreex:itsthe apartment building.

Now Deirdre is followed by Seamus and Gregor.

BACKON Sam and Vincent.

CONTINUED: (3)

VINCENT & SAM (simultaneously) They're goingto get it.

A HAND signsa receipt, and we PULL BACKTO REVEALGregor at a counter, signingfor his package, which slides acrossthe counter. It'sthe Briefcase, although it's been wrappedin BROWN PAPER forits journey through the French Postalsystem. Now we see that- Seamus is still right beside Gregor;is, in fact, almoston top of him, with a hand in his coatpocket

to move towardsthe exit, as we -

The Black Compact Caridles at a nearby curb, with Deirdre behind thewheel. She's staring so intently at the front of the post office,that she"s surprised when a SHADOW falls across her. Shelooks up to see - Sam, standing next to the car. Deirdre startsto reach for her weapon, but Sam cuts her off with a word.

Something in his voiceconveys enough of a threat that she backs off. Now she and Sam exchangea long look.

CUT AWAYTO: Gregor and Seamus are leaving the postoffice. By now,Seamus has taken the package away from Gregor. Unseenby these two men - Vincent is approaching fromthe side,on an intercept course, his hand inside a bagwhich he carrieswith him. Now - Deirdre turns and shoots Sam alook. He's stillwatching her keenly, and we can see that she's achingto reach for her piece, but she can't because Sam is stillon her like a hawk.

He pullsback the folds of his suit jacket, revealing his gun, puttinghis hand comfortably on the pistol grip.

Vincent is closingon Gregor and Sam, another ten seconds and he'll have them.

CONTINUED: (2)

Now - Deirdre looksback at Sam, then back at thesituation developing in frontof her, and then suddenly - She slamsthe car into gear anddrives off, tires squealing while- Sam pulls his piece, sightingdown the barrel and - He can'tdo it, can't shootDeirdre. Now - The sound of thecar alerts Seamus, who turns intime to see - Vincent, who israising the bag wrapped aroundhis hand as - The car fliesdirectly at - Vincent, who isforced to jump out of the way evenas he pulls the triggerof the gun hidden within the bag. The end of the bag explodesin a burst of fire, but the shotsare off the mark - MissingSeamus and Gregor as - Vincent rollsout of the way, just intime, while - Deirdre brakes thecar to a screaming halt, asSeamus pushes Gregor in ahead ofhim and then gets in. Seconds later, the car pulls out, evenas - Sam drives up inthe Peugeot to Vincent, who pickshimself up off the groundand leaps into the car. The last thingwe hear is the soundof Sam's voice as the Peugeot drivesoff.

·During tlilsSEQUENCE,we'll JUMP CUT BETWEEN the twocars and

the streetsthey travel through. Now - The Black Compact Car flies down a smallstreet, followed closely by - The Peugeot, where Sam isdriving as Vincent tries to steady hisgun to get a clear shotat the other Car.

INSIDE THE PEUGOT-

IN THE COMPACTCAR -

Where Deirdre isdriving for dear life, while Seamus is freaking out.

IN THE PEUGOT -

IN THE COMPACT -

OUT IN THE STREET-

The two cars SLAMthrough the traffic, heading for a HIGHWAY RAMP which appearsnow perh_aps two blocksaway •

IN THE PEUGOT -

IN THE COMPACT -

OUT IN THE STREET -

THE TWOCARS have reached thehighway ramp, and as first one, and then the other pulls ontothe highway, we PULL BACK AND UP TO REVEAL:

THE PERIFERIQUE-

The massive andconfusing highway system whichencircles the city of Paris. Right away we notice that thisentrance ramp leads to a trafficcircle, filled with various off ramps which lead tono less than four different sectionsof the Periferigue.

IN THE PEUGOT -

IN THE COMPACT-

IN THE PEUGOT-

IN THE COMPACT-

ON THE PERIFERIQUE-

THE PEUGOT cruisingon an upper part of the traffic circle, while down below them- THE COMPACT turns towards one of the roadways.

IN THE PEUGOT -

Sam looks up and sees - Three possibleramps: one to the right, one to the center, and one tothe - Left. At the last second he takes the left turn aswe go back to -

IN THE COMPACT CAR -

Where Seamus has turned from lecturingDeirdre to threatening Gregor. Seamus holds the packagein one hand and his gun in the other.

ZING-SHATTER! A BULLET blowsa hole in their back windshield as - The Peugeot is catching up,and Vincent is leaning out of his window, firing away. Now - Seamus turns to.Deirdre•

..,...

Deirdre swings the wheel wildly,and the Compact takes a screaming turn, followed by - The Peugeot,and now they're both speeding towards another junction,where several other roadways of the Periferique run together. Now we see that - Seamus is returning Vincent's fire,even as - The Junction approaches, and now - Seamus screamsat Deirdre.

Deirdre swerves to the right only to discoverthat she's now on an -

EXIT RAMP, going against heavy traffic. Now -

Deirdre swerves her car around, side-swiping severalcars, but avoiding a major crash while - The Peugeot followsalong, and now -

one of the cars that Deirdreside-swiped careens wilqly down the ramp, crashing into -The Peugeot, which grinds to a halt as Vincent and sam bounce forwardin their seats, restrained by their seatbelts. The carhas stalled, and Sam has to start her up again and slamit into gear before following after - The Compact, which now hasa lead of perhaps fifty yards -- but at least it'spossible for the Peugeot to follow after the Compact, because it'sthe only car on the highway ahead of them that's GOINGTHE WRONG WAY,and now we - PULL BACK, LOOKING DOWN FROM ABOVE,and the two cars are flying through the rush-hour traffic,going the wrong way, and now -

The Peugeot is gaining groundas Sam turns to Vincent.

(rapidfire) You're not French, you don't livehere, you don't know these roads. Why are you driving?

He puts the cigarette in Sam'smouth and as he does - The Peugeot weaves in and outof the traffic, gaining ground on the Compact, and now - SCREEEEECCHHH!!!! About fifteen cars pile up, crashing into one another,and yet somehow - The Compact Car emerges from thepile up unscathed, and Seamus breathes a huge sigh of relief.

The Peugeot has also managed to avoidthe pile-up, and it"s back on their tail.

(CONTINUED}

CONTINUED:(2)

And now the Peugeot SLAMS into theside of the Compact car, and as it does - Seamus opens firewith his gun, even as - Vincent unloads the better partof a clip as - Glass shatters in both cars, and now Deirdre looksup·to see -

A FORKIN THE ROAD,and the leftside of the fork is closed off, blocked by - A SERIOUS CONCRETEBARRICADE, and the Compact Car is headed right forit, and now -

Sam has the Peugeot pinned rightto the side of the Compact car, metal against metal, a screamof steel as the Barricade rushes straight at them and atthe last second - Deirdre slams on the brakes as -

_Seamus-fir.~sonelast shot that- blows out the window in ,,,,...__.. front of Sam's eyes, causingSam to - Jerk the wheel of the

Peugeot wildly, spinning qut ofcontrol onto the exit ramp as

Gregor reaches over and unbucklesSeamus's seatbelt right as - The Compact Car slams into theBarricade and CRASHES,and we"re in SLOW MOTION as -

Deirdre is driven forward by theforce of the impact, but there's a driver's side airbag, and it explodes, cushioning her, even as -

Seamus is hurled from the car, crashingthrough the windshield and flying through theair as -

The Compact Car flips over and overand over while -

Gregor, who is wearing his seatbelt, hangson for dear life to the Briefcase, which he grabbed backfrom Seamus before the crash, and now

- Seamus hits the ground with a terrible thud,his face sliced to ribbons by the windshield, butsomehow still alive as -

CONTINUED: (3 )

Sam triesto control the Peugeot, which isin a spin on the exitramp as -

Gregorkicks open the back door and slidesout of the car, carryingthe Briefcase with him, as -

Deirdrestruggles to free herself from thewreck, which is now -On fire, and now -

Sam hasmanaged to stop the Peugeot,but it's too late to go back,because -

A VERITABLE FLEET OF COP CARSis now closingon the accident, and it's too late to turn around, andeven as -

Deirdre manages to pull herself out of thewreck, it - EXPLODES into a ball of fire, and theblast wave of fire - Hits Seamus, knocking him down, coveringh.illlforasecond, even as - Deirdre hurls herself throughthe flames and comes out - Rolling away with Seamus,who is now not only cut to pieces, but his face is coveredwith some hideous burns.

Now Deirdre pulls Seamus over the sideof the embankment, right before the cops arrive, and thetwo of them roll/fall almost thirty feet down a steep incline,even as -

Sam catches a quick glimpse of -

Gregor, scurrying away from thehighway, carrying the Briefcase, and now Sam has to gun hiscar and get gone, because the Cops have reached -

The Wreck, which is quickly burning itselfout, -andas the Cops look into the debris they seethat -

THERE'S NOBODY LEFT. Everybody's gone.

FADEOUT.

FADEIN ON:

A FRONT DOOR,guarded by about five heavy locks, opens and Vincent and Sam enter. Sam looks around and surveys the apartment.

ANOTHERANGLE - And we see the rest of theapartment: there"s practicallynothing here. A table witha couple of chairs, a fridge. An open door leads to a bedroom witha small, spare bed and a nightstandwith a cheap lamp.

The two men cross the room towards -A METAL CABINET which is

duty COMBINATION LOCKand then: Click,the cabinet opens ~nd we see -- WEAPONS.An endless cache ofguns, 'knives, . explosives, surveillance devices, gun scopes-- you name it, it'shere. Now Vincent's Hands reach intothe cabinet and start ta·king·outweapons. we PULL BACKON -

Vincent, who gives the weapons to Sam. Sam checks to make sure the weapons are loaded and/or ready fpruse, and then piles them, one on top of the other.

CONTINUED: (2)

BEAT. Sam can't sayanything, because he knows that what

Vincent is saying istrue.

Vincent thinks aboutthis for a second -- and then burstsout

laughing as we -

Deirdre once behindthe wheel. The passenger seat next to her is empty, butas she drives we can see her eyes as they

flick from the roadin front of her, to the rearview mirror,

which reveals -

A glimpse of the HIDEOUSFACE of Seamus Reilly. Crashing through the windshieldand the blast of fire have forever changed the way helooks: his face is now a mass of oozing wounds and burn tissue. In his eyes we see the light of a sick, twisted man who'sgone over the edge.

BEAT. Deirdre bristlesat Seamus's words buJ; saysnothing.

THE CARzooms off intothe night, and as it does -

A LIGHT RAIN startsto fali and we -

·r- THE SAME RAIN falls,more of a steady mist than a rain. The mist GLEAMS electricallyin the THOUSAND WATT LIGHTS which ·shine from - THE CHATEAU. Hundreds.of years old, it sits far back from its ownMAIN GATE. In front of the Chateau - ARMED MEN. Lots of them. Whatever this place is, it's not one that invites company. Now we're - MOVING TOWARDS the Chateau, and aswe MOVE we get a glimpse of the.surrounding environment: ancientstatues, sitting benches in private gardens, small poolsof fish -- you name it, this place has it. We hear VOICES, andthey're talking in - RUSSIAN. Heavy, thick Russian,punctuated with words like "Da!" and "Nyet!" -- making itclear that we've reached the address of the Russian ProductionCompany. BEHIND THE CHATEAU - MORE GARDENS, more everything. It's well-patrolled, but there aren't quite as many guardsback here as there are out front, because bordering thechateau isa natural fortress -

A WOODS -

A forest, really. Filled with ancienttrees, almost mythic in appearance, and for all the lightof the chateau this place is darkness visible -- lightcomes here and dies. And in this woods, looking out, we find- Vincent and Sam.

Heavily armed, they'vejust humped God knows how many miles through the woods toget here. Both men exhausted from the walk -- Sam from hiswound, Vincent from his smoking habit. They collapse and Vincenttakes out his cigarettes. Even though they"re screenedfrom the chateau back here, Sam reaches overand takes the cigarettes out of Vincent'shands.

Vincentoffers one to Sam, who declines it witha shakeof hishead.

CONTINUED: (2)

CONTINUED: (3)

I

ARMED RUSSIANMOBSTERS everywhere -- a conventionof the goon squad.

MOVINGTHROUGH the Chateau itself, and from in herewe see the sideof France we haven•t·yet seen in this film:culture. Each room couldbe a museum, as we move through -

A GALLERY,f~lled with paintir.gsby RenaissanceMasters -

A PARLOR;with antique furniture, the youngest,pieceof which is two hundredyears old -

A BALLROOM, empty and barren, but lit by the dazzling light

A KITCHEN,where a cigarette smoking CHEt is putting the finishingtouches on what is perhaps the most amazing meal you'veever seen. Now - A SERVANT takes the tray and carries it outto -

A DINING ROOM,and the table is set for a formal dinner for twenty,with crystal and china at every place setting, and yet thetable is occupied by only one man -

MIKHAELRACHEV,Russian Gangster Supreme, called Mikhi•. Now -

The Servantsets the food down in front of Mikhi, and as this chief hood startsto eat a lonely and solitary dinner we PULL BACK,MOVING DOWN the length of the way-too-long table.

A TAXI pullsup to the Main Gate and Gregor gets out. Attached to hiswrist, by that same handcuff: the Briefcase. Gregor is admittedby a Guard as we -

Mikhi the Gangsteris eating his dinner as Gregor isushered into the room. THREETHUGS hang back behind Gregor,watching to see whatMikhi wants. Now -

Mikhi waves theThugs out of the room, leaving Gregoralone with the gangster. Mikhi takes a last few bites ofdinner as he motions forGregor to sit.

·"

No, Mikhi,I wouldn't. (lettingthat sink in for a minute) Since Iwon't speak your language, and you can'tspeak mine, English will do rdcely.

Gregor raises the Briefcasewhich is still attached to his

wrist via the handcuff. Gregor rests the Briefcase on the

table.

The moment of truth.Before this scene can develop any

further, a VOICE comes from OffScreen,.and as the voice

speaks, Gregor blanches.

ANOTHER ANGLE - Deirdreand Seamus have entered the room. And we notice somethingunusual: nobody is alarmed (except for Gregor, that is). It's as if they were expected.

As Seamus speakshe walks through the room, examining the valuable chinaand crystal, all the while moving inexorably closer to Gregor. His face is, if anything, even more ·horrificthan itwas a short while ~go, as his formerly fresh wounds have startedto scab over.

Vincent'sCIGARETTE is stubbed into a rock and.thetwo men risewith a slow purpose. They exchange a look,and then Sam steps forward,leading the way.

A WIDEANGLE - THE BACK LAWN OF THE CHATEAU -

PureKurosawa. The JAPAHESE DRUM we've heardbefore starts toplay again as -

THE LONG SHADOWS of Sam and Vincent come outof the woods and intothe brilliant light of the back lawn. For one minute they stand still, and among the many weaponsthat Sam carries is a long automatic rifle, strung over hisback, and in SILHOUETTE for one minute it looks like a SamuraiSword. Now the two men start to move across the lawn, huggingthe shadows of the various statues and hedges,trying to keep from beingdiscovered for as long as possible.

BACK I~ THE DININ~ ROOM -

MilCHI And more illlportantly

BEAT. Nobody moves. Nobody speaks. Until finally -

Before this entirely too-weird scenariocan play itself we go back to -

THE BACK LAWN OF THE CHATEAU -

Sam and Vincent are closer·to theChateau, moving in stealth, avoid-ingcinyentanglements·and thenSam turns a corner and comes face to face with - A GUARD,and his gun is aimed at Sam's head: Sam's a dead man aswe go -

BACK TO THE DINING ROOM -

AUTOMATIC WEAPONS FIRE splits thenight, and everyone in the

room looks at one another, beforeMikhi speaks.

BACK OUTSIDETHE CHATEAU -

The Guard who had Sam in his sights fallsdown, dead, shot by - Vincent, whose smoking weapon is cradledin his arms. Vincent smiles at Sam•

That's one less I owe you •••

Sam smiles, but it's no tillletoget satisfied. Their presence revealed, there's no point in moving quietly. Sam draws his weapons and as he and Vincent charge acrossthe lawn towards the Chateau while -

BACK IN THE DINING ROOM -

MORE GUNSHOTS from outside nota war, but enough to cause serious alarm. Deirdre, ever the soldier,draws her two automatic pistols.

She nods at Gregor and his Briefcase,indicating what this mutual interest is. Then she turnsand bolts the room, and as she does we"re -

BACKOUTSIDE THE CHATEAU -

Sam and Vincent are running along,hugging the ground and whatever darkness they can find,while blind weapons fire rips into the ground around them,Russian thugs not even sure what they"re shooting at, but shootingall the same as Sam and Vincent hurtle towards - · ·

A BACK ENTRAijCETO THE CHATEAU -

Some kind of kitchen storage area,and as Sam oandVincent burst in from outside - FIVE RUSSIANHOODS come flying in from an interior entrance; and thisis it,.Sam and Vincent are outnumbered, outgunned, they'regoing to die and then - They take out the entire room - Sam holdsan automatic pistol in his left hand, and a submachine gun inhis right, and when

he fires, he does so in short controlledbursts, firing only when he has the target in his sights,while - Vincent fights with a kind of sheer force, a shotgun inone hand, an Uzi in the other, he fires at anything and everythingthat moves, and he hits almost all of it - And suddenlythe room is quiet. Everybody"s dead except for Sam and Vincent. They drop their spent weapons and take out freshones even as they move towards - THE DOOR - It leads to two passages,each one leading to a separate wing of the chateau.

Vincent and Sam split up, moving into separate WINGSof the Chateau, and as they move off Sam speaks a word ofwarning.

And then they'regone, and we're with -

Deirdre,who's running through though house, going from room to room, and we'rewith her for a minute, the JAPANESEDRUM starts toplay again, and now it's joined by more and more drums, andthey continue for the rest of this sequenceand suddenly -A HUGEBURSTOF GUNFIRE is heard, dragging Deirdre'sattention towards -

THE BALLROOM-

And Sam's inthe middle of a pitched battle with three Gunmen. He kills the first, and then the second, and then- No third. The Third Gunman rolls out of the way asSam fires,the Third Gunman fires back and - Their shots go wide, ripping intomirrors and chandeliers, littering the floor with glass. And now we're -

ON DEIRDRE-

Runningihrough the halls as we hear one las·tburstof

almostreached the ballroom when - Sam comes flying out,and the two ofthem CRASH TOGETHER, sending the two of them sprawlinginto - The shot-lipmess that used to be the Ballroom- And as they crash to the ground, Sam loses liis weapon inthe fall, but Deirdre manages to hold onto oneof her two guns. Now the two of them roll to their feet, and as theydo we'ce back in -

THE DININGROOM -

Seamus theMadman is pacing the floor, his face even worse thenbefore: with each minute the mask of flesh that is now his faceis becoming more grotesque. Little pustules have startedto formall over its surface, oozing a whitish viscous liquid. A NEW BURSTOF FIGHTINGSOUNDS can be heard, and Seamus,who is no longer capable of thinking straight, loses it.

And Seamus is gone,and so are we -- back to -

THE BALLROOM -where Deirdre has her two guns pointedat Sam and - Does nothing. BEAT.

But Deirdrecan't do it. There's something betweenthese two, and now -Sam looks around and sees Deirdre'sother pistol lyingon a broken chair, and now he -

Kicks outwith his foot and hits a chair leg, causingit to functionas a lever, sending the gun - THROUGH THEAIR in a gracefulSLOW-MO arc until it - THWACKS into Sam'sHand. Now he's armed and helooks back at - Deirdre. Her FINGER tightenson the trigger, she"s almost ready to shoot-- if Sam raiseshis piece, he"s a dead man.

In responseSam stares at Deirdre for a BEATand thenhe smilesan enigmatic smile and - He steps sideways, intoa nearbycorridor, vanishing.

She runsafter him but she's too late -- The corridor outside isempty. Now we"re back in -

THE DININGROOM -

With Gregorand Mikhi, and the tension is unbearable, because they canhear the sounds of the fighting as it starts and then stops,but they don't have the least idea of what's going on. Still, Mikhi won't let Gregor leave without giving up theBriefcase. Mikhi has a gun on Gregor, who in turn holds theBriefcase close, ready to open it and set off the 5 second timerthat will blow it up.

Gregor sits backdown, fairly close to Mikhi. Then,in a manner so deftthat Mikhi never even notices, Gregorextracts a wickedly thinstiletto blade from the leather liningof the Briefcase. Before Mikhi can even react, Gregor stabshis arm forward in a savagearc - JAMMING THE BLADE intoMikhi"s throat. Mikhi drops his gun and reaches for.theblade, already gaggingon the blood spray which shoots from the slashed artery. Within seconds - Mikhi falls tothe ground, jerking viciouslyin his death throes as - Gregorpicks up the pistol andruns to leave the room, and as he doeswe move to - THE GALLERY- Filled.with Paintings and sculptures, nothing lessthan 200 years old. This place is a maze,what with it'swalls of paintings that jut out here and there,the various corridorswhich lead from room to room,and the sculptureswhich block sight lines. Now we find- Vincent, pressed againsta wall, a gun in each hand, while- FIVE RUSSIANMAFIA GUYSare hunting him down. we do a SERIES OF QUICK CUTSas the Five Guys split up and look forVincent, all ehewhile speaking in low Russian voices. Suddenly one of theGuys turns a corner and sees - Nothing. No Vincent. Now he turnsback and - A FIST CRASHES througha painting which hangson a makeshift wall. It's Vincent. His hand wraps aroundMafia Guy"s neck, p~nning him inplace. Seconds later -Tt.(o_quick shotsripthrough the painting,hitting MafiaGuy in the head. Now - The other men are alertedby the shots,they come running and - Vincent stepsout firing -

And now it's a bullet-fest, as he gets the dropon them, usingthe maze of the Gallery to his fullest advantage, gunningthem down - First one - Then two - Three,and then - No four. Vincent·turns, surprised that his manwasn't where he expectedhim to be when - A SHOTRINGS OUT, hitting Vincent,a flesh wound that disarms him. The LastGuy has thedrop on Vincent. Now - The Last Guy smiles a nasty littlesmile at Vincent and - A PISTOL spits fire and -A BULLETbursts out of the Last Guy's chest. It's Sam. Now Sam and Vincentexchange a look: Sam has, once again, saved Vincent's life.

The two men don'thave time for any more words, they move from theGallery and find themselves in. -

THE DINING ROOM-

Where they find nothingbut the bloody remains ofMikhi the Gangster. Sam and Vincentare surveying the room when a VOICEcomes from BEHIND them -

ANOTHERANGLE - Seamus Reilly has come in behind them,and he's got hisgun pointed straight at Sam's heart. IfSeamus is enraged atdiscovering Gregor's absence, he's overjoyedto find Sam inhis place.

Seamus pullsthe trigger and his BULLETspins out towards Sam, readyto blow a hole through him except that - Vincent leaps forwardand takes the bullet -- it rips into his side, a huge splashof red against his white shirt. He falls to the ground,horribly wounded, but he•s given Sam enough time, and now -Sam and Seamus open fire on one another - BULLETS RIPPING·intothe table, chewing up the china and crystal, taking glass shatteringbites out of the CHANDELIER above the table, turning theDining Room from a prime Louis XIV showpiece into shitas the two men move about and then suddenly - They'reface to face, each with a gun to the other - Mexican Standoff. Suddenly, from Off Screen -

ANOTHER ANGLE - Deirdrehas appeared, her gun leveletlat the two men.

Deirdrehesitates, uncertain.

Theselast words sink into Deirdre: she is a soldier. Her gun swivelstowards Sam.

SEAMUS

,

(sensingthat he's getting to her) You're one of us •••Youbeen born and bred with your own people, you can't go against your nature. C'mon, girl, I'm your people!

Deirdre makes up her mind

I'm no girl, Seamus •••

She·fires a· shot- Blowing Seamus of his feetand through a huge PLATEGLASSWINDOW.

She moves with Sam to Vincent, who is seriouslywounded -- perhaps life-threateningly so.

Sam considers,but before he can make up his mind, Deirdre seessomething through the wreck of the Dining Room Window -

CONTINUED: (2 )

OUTON THE BACKLAWN - We've already seenthat it's bordered on oneside by the woods, for the firsttime we notice - A LAKE,which laps against a PRIVATEDOCK,where a row boat is tethered. Now - BENEATH A VERYFULL MOON,the stark figure ofGregor makes its way toward theDock.

Sam turns at the sound of her voiceand sees Gregor making his escape. Sam looks back at Vincent,.who isalmost passed out from blood loss.

Sam makes up his mind, and as Vincentpasses out, Sam runs out after Deirdre and towards -

THE PRIVATEDOCK -

And as the two of them run we MOVEWITH THEM •

And now they reach the Dock and they find -Nothing -- no Gregor. And the Boat is still there. BeforeSam can restrain her - Deirdre steps out towardsthe boat.

But it's too late: Gregor steps out from behind

A BOATHOUSE, and before Deirdre can even figureout what happened, Gregor has her in an arm lock, a gun toher head. His free hand sticks out and we see the Briefcase,which is stillhandcuffed to his wrist.

Gregor and Deirdre are poised at theedge of the lake. This Private Dock is made completely of stone,and the drop to the water is nearly five feet. Sam has reacheda position where there is no right answer. Still,he points his gun at Gregor, who in turn shields himselfwith Deirdre's body.

· .SEAMUS(O.S.)

If you don"t, I will•••

ANOTHER ANGLE - Seamus is somehow stillbarely alive·-- he"s not long for this world, butthe will for revenge has driven him this far.

THE TOP OF SEAMUS'SHEADexplodes, finishing him off once and for all, killed by -

Vincent, who has staggered out tomake this one necessary shot. But he can go no further, andhe collapses in his own blood, near death, just as - Gregortakes a step towards the boat and - Sam makes up his mind andshoots - THE BULLET FLIES ACROSS THE SCREEN

IMPACT - The BRIEFCASEbursts, shot openby Sam and now we're in SLOW MOTION as -

CONTINUED: (2)

Gregor relaxes his grip on Deirdre as he strugglesto close the case and - Deirdre takes theopportunity to dive the other way, into the lake, while -

BABOOM! The case EXPLODES, a flashof phosphorescent white lightthat incinerates Gregor and thecase and whatever was insideit with an explosion that knocksSam to the ground and when the light clears - Gregor andthe case are gone, while - THE EXPLOSION ECHOES out over th~lake, booming again and again until finally there is - SILENCE. Sam looks out over the lake for any sign of Deirdre -But there is none. And then, after we"ve held for a BEATlonger than it should be possible for her to have survived- Her·head splits the surfaceand she emerges, coughing. Sam reaches down to help her out.

Sam pulls Deirdr~ out of the waterand then the two of tbem irnmediately·turnand move towardsVincent, and as they do we start to PULL BACK on them, and now theSOUNDS of SIRENS can be heard, one, then two more, and thena symphony of noise. And we're STILL PULLINGBACK ON -

THE CHATEAU - or what's left of it,because it's started to burn, and quickly the flames start torise into the night, like something out of medieval times:aswe -

Sam waits outside a hospital room, insideof which we get a glimpse of - A DOCTOR tending to a heavilybandaged and sedated Vincent. As Sam waits - TWO GENDARMESand a PLAINCLOTHES DETECTIVE approach. The Detectivelooks at.Sam for a BEAT, and then goes to push past him. Sam blocks his way.

Sam reaches intohis coat, and for a moment everybodythinks he's going forhis gun, but instead he comes out with- A PIECE OF PAPER. He hands it to the Detective.

The Detectiveeyeballs the number suspiciously.

FIVE MINUTES LATER -

The Detectivehangs up a nearby wall phone andthen looks overat Sam in disgust. Without another word,the Detective signalsto the two Gendarmes, and all threemen exit. Now -

The DOCTOR,a beautiful French Woman, comes up andspeaks to him inFRENCH -- and the amazing thing is thatSam speaks back. Everything is SUBTITLED.

The Doctor isn't entirely satisfied with thisanswer, but it's the only one she's going to get, becauseSam moves past into -

He's barely alive -- but alive nonetheless. And he's heard Sam speak in French to the Doctor.

SA."! What ofit?

He liesback on his pillow, pissed andyet amused.

CONTINUED: (2)

Sam turns for thedoor but Vincent has one last thing to say.

Sam has to thinkabout this for a second, and his answer reveals just how fullcircle he's come.

And on that.noteSam exits the room, leaving a bemused

A"WISPY FOG atmosphericallyrises off.the river -- not too thick, not toothin.

A TITLE: One month later . . .

We'reMOVING alongthe cobble-stone walk next to the river as a VOICE cuts throughthe fog.

A RIVERSIDE CAFE -Where Sam, Vincent and Deirdre are having morning coffee. A mostly-healed Vincent is smoking a cigarette, trying toget Sam to light up.

The two of them turnto Sam, but he shakes his head.

your judgement.

Sam can't help it-- he's interested.

SLAM°CUTTO:

SILENCEANDFOG. A RIVER FERRYdoes a slow ghostly glide down the river, and in secondsit approaches -

THE RIVERSIDECAFE, which appearsthrough the mist, looked at by --

A SLEEKPAIR OF SUNGLASSESattached to a young PUNK in a leather coat, and the Punk islooking at - Sam, Vincent, and especially: Deirdre. Sam looksup and shouts a warning as - The Punk pulls a shotgun frombeneath his leather coat, pumps the gun and screams out atDeirdre with an Irish accent -

" BOOM! The Punk pulls the trigger, a blast of fire as - Sam"s gun is already out,TWO QUICK SHOTSsqueezed off and - The Punk is capped twice inthe head, dead, sailing away on the Ferry which never stopsas -

THE CAFE goes wild,CUSTOMERS running, screami~g, WAITERS dropping their trays. But - Sam doesn't run, and neither does Vincent. Sam stands,stunned by what he sees - Deirdre lies on the ground,hit full on in the chest: she's dead. A BEATOF.PURE SILENCE- Broken by SIRENS in the distance,.but quickly-growing closer. Now - Vincent looks at Deirdre's corpse, then at Sam, who isunable to move. For maybe the first time in hisprofessional career, Sam is staggered by the loss of a life. Vincent gently takes Sam's arm.

Sam looks at Vincent,and for a moment Sam struggles to find something to say, but hecan't find a goddamned thing. The SIRENS are getting louder-

Vincent literally drags Sam away andnow the SIRENS have arrived, followed quickly by -THE GENDARMES, who come running into the Cafe but - It'sempty except for Deirdre's. body. Now -

THE STREETABOVE THE RIVER -

Sam and Vincentare running through patchy fog,Vincent leading the#ay, and now -

We're CLOSERON Vincent as he runs and runs andruns until he feels he;s farenough away from the scene ofthe crime to relax. He collapsesagainst a stone wall,chest heaving, shakingout two cigarettes, one for himselfand one for Sam.

ButSam isn't there to take the cigarette-- Vincent looks around,trying to see what happened tohis friend, but the foghas covered any sign of Sam. Vincent stands there, stunned,alone, the cigarettes in anoutstretched hand that slowly falls back to Vincent's sideas he realizes that Sam has left him on purpose. Then -Vincent lights both cigarettes at the same time and throwsone of them over the. stone wall - THE GLOWING CIGARETTEarcs through the air until it lands .i,._ntberiverwhereitextinguishes with a hiss.

BACK AT THE CAFE -

The Gendarmes have secured·thescene (thereisn't much to secure since everyone has runaway), A majority of cops surround_Deirdre's dead body,but - One GENDARME wanders around the cafe, looking about,and then he sees something -

ON THE STREETABOVE -

A SHAPEIN THF.FOG. The wind_blowsand the fog clears for a

second, and we see that it's- Sam. Getting one last look at

Deirdre. Quickly - The Gendarme pointsSam out but as he does the wind continues toblow and - THE FOG swallows Sam. Seconds later the fog clearsagain, and when it does - Sam is gone.

FADEOUT.