Chicago
Maggie Kimble Hume pushes
her way stoically through a throng of newsmen, their camera's flashing. With
relief, she shuts her front door and collapses on the couch. Her eyes are
reluctantly drawn to the TV screen and she reaches for the remote control,
turning to the CNN broadcast.
"The search for Richard Kimble
continues today, as police search the banks of the Genesee
River in Rochester, NY for conclusive evidence that he is dead or alive. Kimble escaped police pursuit by jumping off the 26th
Street bridge above the Rochester Power and Light power plant into the rain-swollen
waters of the Genesee River. A battered duffel bag
identified as Kimble's
was retrieved from the river by police below the Lower Falls but the fugitive's whereabouts are still unknown. Local police
doubt that Kimble could have survived the fall from
the bridge, but Captain Philip Gerard, head of the
Fugitive Task Force of Chicago PD remains unconvinced, and vows to continue
the search until evidence proves him wrong. "
As Gerard's face appears on the TV screen, Maggie
turns off the TV, her face a mask of fear and distress. She looks anxiously
at the silent phone, willing it to ring, knowing her brother will try to contact
her somehow if he is alive.
The doorbell
rings and at the sound of the doorbell, she jumps. With an angry look, she
walks over to the door to confront the press, only to spot Agent Kari
Holmes on her doorstep. "Ms. Hume,
can I talk to you privately?"
Maggie motions for her to come in. Kari walks in and
Maggie closes the door and turns to her. "Do
you have news about Richard?" she demands.
"No,
I'm afraid not. I came on the pretense of encouraging you to help us by telling
us if your brother contacts you. Gerard wants him to turn himself in so we
can sit down and figure this whole thing out."
Maggie's face registers her shock and anger. "Gerard can take that suggestion
and go to hell!"
Kari smiles faintly. "I agree. Now
that we’ve got that formality taken care of, please tell me you've heard from
him."
Maggie shakes her head negatively. "I haven't heard anything. I swear."
Seeing Kari's obvious disappointment, she struggles
to control her emotions. "Let me get us some coffee." Kari sits down and Maggie pours
two cups of coffee with slightly shaking hands before sitting down herself.
"Tell me everything."
After a brief
silence, Kari says, "We were summoned to Syracuse
because Richard had been spotted at the local hospital after suffering a head
injury and amnesia. The local police searched for him for three days without
success, but if we hadn't been ordered to attend the mock trial at Syracuse
University, Gerard would never have given up. We didn't realize Richard would
be there, apparently trying to fill in the gaps in his memory. I saw him otuside
the courtroom, but he didn’t recognize me.
He just ran. Then the next day when he made his big appearance
in the trial all hell broke loose. He
escaped the roadblocks somehow, but then he was spotted by a bus driver in
Rochester. I would have done more to help him, but he ran from me. I don't
think he ever recognized me."
Maggie is aghast. "Didn't recognize you? He still has amnesia?"
"I don't
know. I thought when he jumped off the bridge, he looked at me… I don't know."
Kari, clearly distraught, almost looks as though
she could start crying. "Ms. Hume…"
"Why
don't you call me Maggie?" She smiles at Kari.
"OK…Maggie. You can call me Kari."
Maggie hesitates before continuing. "There's more between you and my brother
than his just saving your life isn't there?"
Kari looks like she wants to divulge all to Maggie
but she only says, "I'm sorry, Maggie, but
I can't tell you anymore for your own protection and ours. I just pray that
Richard is all right. It just can't end like this. Why hasn't he tried to
call one of us?" Her voice is shaking as she speaks.
Both women
jump as Kari's cell phone rings. Kari
pulls it out and answers it before the second ring. "Holmes!"
There is a
pause at the other end of the line. Then Kari hears
the voice of Eve Hilliard. "Agent Holmes, I need to you back here at headquarters. The Captain
has an assignment for you."
Kari tries to keep the disappointment out of her voice. "All right, give
me thirty minutes."
"Are
you all right?"
"I'm
fine. I've just finished talking to Maggie Hume. She was pretty upset. I'll be there as soon as I can."
She hangs up the phone abruptly.
Maggie asks anxiously, "Who was it?"
Kari says , "Eve Hilliard. Gerard has some
new assignment for us. I have to go." She turns distractedly to the door.
"If I
hear anything, I'll call you. I promise."
"Thanks,
Maggie!" Kari hands Maggie her business card that also has her cell number on
it. They hug each other.
Cleveland:
Richard
Kimble is leaning against the wall inside a small, dark, wet
alley. His face is covered by the stubble of a newly-started beard and the
collar on his jacket is upturned to partially cover his face. Reaching into
his pocket, he pulls out a few dollar bills, then shoves them back. Wiping
his face with his sleeve, he walks onto the nearest street. Seeing a "Help
Wanted" sign, he turns to enter a restaurant. Inside the man at the counter
is absorbed in watching the TV set above the bar. A picture of High Falls
appears on the screen and Kimble stops abruptly
and backs out of the door before the man notices him. With a sense of helplessness,
he retreats back into the alley, intent on escaping the incessant newscasts
broadcasting his picture.
He takes shelter
in the shadow of a brimming dumpster. Tired and
discouraged, he closes his eyes for a brief rest and escape from the present,
only to find himself reliving the past…
Swept over the power plant dam by the
fast-moving water, he finds himself caught in the rapids below the dam. The
pounding water pushes him down relentlessly despite his struggles to reach
the surface. In the murky water, his lungs feel ready to explode. Suddenly,
images from the past flash in rapid succession - Helen, Charnquist,
Gerard, Dr. Thayer, his father, Maggie…Kari. The current pushes him down further and his foot brushes
against a boulder. He pushes with all his remaining strength toward the surface
and breaks free of the water as his oxygen-starved lungs gasp for air. His
shoulder slams against a tree trunk jammed between two rocks and he grasps
it desperately with both arms as he gulps for air and memories of the past
engulf him…
Shaken back
to the present, Kimble's face reflects the painful
memories of the past two years. He stares at a payphone
across the street, longing to call Maggie and let
her know he is safe, but realizing it‘s out of the question. “I can call Kari. Her phone won’t be tapped.” He says out loud. He starts to pick up the phone and then has
a shocking realization. “Why can’t
I remember her phone number?” He squeezes
his eyes tight trying to remember, but he can’t.
A
young woman's laughter interrupts his thoughts and he looks up to see a young
man and woman in sweatsuits jogging past on the sidewalk.
Assailed by memories of happier days with Helen, he sits lost in thought until
the sound of sirens rapidly approaching shakes him back to the present. The sound reminds him of Kari
and of the times she’s protected him in California, DC and most recently
helping him to escape from Chicago.
Behind him,
he hears running footsteps and he jumps to his feet in alarm at the sound
of a police whistle. A young man pushes him out of the way as he heads for
the end of the alley to jump over a high metal fence and disappear. Sprawling
on his knees, Kimble hears the man's pursuer rapidly
approaching. He runs down the alley and scrambles over the top of the fence
as a policeman turns the corner behind him and yells "Stop or I'll shoot!"
Sliding down the other side, he runs faster, darting down one alley after
another, but cannot escape the running footsteps behind him. He turns a corner
and darts into an open door, then pushes it shut and leans weakly against
it. Listening at the door, he hears the policeman approach, breathlessly talking
on the radio to his dispatcher. The footsteps retreat and then there is silence.
His stomach growling, Kimble stumbles over to a
corner and curls up under some scattered newspapers. Hugging his thin plain
jacket around him, exhaustion overcomes hunger and he falls into a restless
asleep.
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