Act
II
FADE IN
INT. MUSEUM NEAR T. REX EXHIBIT - DAY
STONY drops the hypodermic full of insulin onto the floor and raises his foot to crush it.
ANN
Her eyes go wide in panic as she realizes what he is about to do.
SLOW MOTIONRED (O.S.) (sharply)
Stony! Don’t!
STONY freezes, his foot in mid-air.
CAROL holds her breath, apprehensive.
ANN is wide-eyed and looks scared, pale, sickly.
BRYAN is biting his lower lip, looking distraught.
JESSICA is also wide-eyed, one hand to her mouth.
CHANCE, looking surprised, has an arm extended, hand outstretched, as though to stop Stony’s foot from descending by sheer power of his will.
RETURN TO NORMAL SPEED
STONY leaves his foot suspended for a beat as he hears footsteps running towards him. Slowly he lowers his foot, sparing the hypodermic, and turns toward the sound.
RED slows as he enters the frame, stopping a few feet from Stony. Stony’s eyes bore through him, his face neutral.
Stony continues to look through him.RED (CONT.) (panting)
Don’t do it, Stony. Please.
Stony remains impassive.RED (CONT.) She’s just a little girl, man. Just a sick little girl. Why don’t we just let her have her medicine?
Stony’s eyes narrow and his face turns hard. He shakes his head.RED (CONT.) What do you say? Huh?
Red looks confused.STONY You just don’t get it, do ya, kid?
Red’s face is blank. Stony sweeps his arm in a semi-circle, indicating the hostages.STONY Think about what’s happening here. Ya got the three of us holed up in a museum, wanted for robbery, assault, attempted murder - probably murder, too, for all we know. We’ve got a bunch of people we’re holding hostage who’d rather be anywhere than here. Outside are half of this city’s cops, who’d like nothing better than to blow our heads off - the sooner, the better. They don’t know us. They don’t like us. They don’t want to help us. All they want to do is get home to their wife or husband or dog or cat. Now tell me - what incentive do they have to give us anything we want? Huh? What incentive do they have to let us get out of here alive and free?
He glares around the room at all of the hostages.STONY (CONT.) These people are the only bargaining chip we’ve got, man. As long as the cops believe they’re in danger and that we’ll kill them, if we have to, to get out of here, they’ve got a reason to negotiate with us. If they know some of the hostages are women and children, they’ve got even more reason to negotiate with us. And if they know that one of those children is a sick little girl who’ll die if she doesn’t get medical attention pretty soon, they’ve got even more reason to negotiate with us. And that’s why nobody . . .
(raises his foot and quickly slams it down, smashing the
hypodermic)
. . . is going to be getting any shots.
He stares everyone down for a beat, then turns back to Red, his face hard and dangerous. When he speaks, his voice is hard and icy. He punctuates every couple of words by jabbing his finger at Red.STONY (CONT.) You got that?
His eyes bore into Red for a beat, then he turns from him dismissively.STONY (CONT.) Don’t you ever question my actions again.
Reluctantly Red turns around and walks back out of frame.STONY (CONT.) Now get back over there and keep an eye on these people.
CLOSE ON SMASHED HYPODERMIC NEEDLE
with splashes of liquid mingled with broken pieces of plastic.
EXT. STREET IN FRONT OF MUSEUM - BY MILLER’S CAR - DAYCUT TO:
Miller is pacing back and forth by his car, hands in his pants pockets, looking impatient.
Miller spins towards the voice. The sergeant trots into frame. As he nears Miller he slows, extending his arm toward him. There’s a piece of paper in his hand. As he stops Miller takes the piece of paper from him while with his other hand pulling a cell phone from his jacket pocket. He begins to press numbers on the keypad as he looks at the paper.SERGEANT (O.S.) Detective Miller, we’ve got it.
INT. MUSEUM - NEAR T. REX EXHIBIT - DAYCUT TO:
Stony, his hands in his pockets, paces between Red and Bart with his head down, looking at the floor. The PHONE on the desk by the front door suddenly RINGS. Stony’s head snaps up. Red’s and Bart’s heads spin toward the sound as well. The phone rings a second time.
He strolls slowly to the phone as it continues to ring.STONY It’s about time!
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR - DAYCUT TO:
Millers stands with the cell phone to his ear, eagerly looking toward the front entrance of the museum.
INT. MUSEUM - DESK NEAR FRONT DOOR - DAYMILLER (low)
Come on, come on. Pick it up.CUT TO:
Stony reaches the desk, his hands still in his pockets, and glances impassively at the phone as it continues to ring a few more times. Finally he reaches out and lifts the receiver from the cradle.
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR (AS BEFORE)STONY (into phone)
You took your sweet time.CUT TO:
INT. MUSEUM BY DESK (AS BEFORE)MILLER (into phone)
Yeah, well, it wasn’t easy coming up with this number.(v.o. from phone) STONY
I hope you didn’t call to give me excuses, because if you did . . .(quickly) MILLER
No no, that’s not why I called.
(takes a deep breath)
I’m Detective Tom Miller. I’m the negotiator. I need to ascertain the situation in there. How is everyone?CUT TO:
Stony perches himself on a corner of the desk.
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR (AS BEFORE)STONY Oh we’re just having a grand time in here, Detective. The music’s a little loud and the food’s not so hot, but other than that it’s a great party!(v.o. from phone) MILLER
Come on, you know how this works. If you want anything from me, you give up some information. I need to know how your hostages are doing.Easy, Detective. Don’t get all riled up. I understand how the game’s played. But there’s something you better understand, and you better understand it right now: this is my game and we’re gonna play by my rules. You don’t have to like it, but you do have to accept it, because if you don’t, I’ll start sending these people out to you one at a time. Dead. Now we don’t want that, do we? STONY
CUT TO:
Miller lets out a small puff of breath, runs his fingers through his hair and leans against the fender of his car, his back to the museum.
Miller glances around to the different places where his officers and SWAT officers are stationed, weighing his options.MILLER No.
INT. MUSEUM BY DESK (AS BEFORE)STONY (v.o. from phone)
I know you must be trying to figure out how quickly you can get some of your people in here to take us out, Detective, but I’d be real careful about that. My associates and I have a fair amount of fire power on us, and I bet there’s an excellent chance we can kill all of these fine men, women and children before you can kill of us.
(as a statement, not a question)
And wouldn’t that be tragic.CUT TO:
Stony glances at the hostages, and at Bart and Red guarding them, as he waits for Miller to respond. He swings one leg slowly.
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR (AS BEFORE)MILLER (v.o. from phone)
Yes, it would. I don’t think any of us want that, do we . . .uh, you know, I never got your name!My name’s not important. STONY
(v.o. from phone) MILLER
Well, I need to call you something, don’t I? It’s kind of awkward to be talking to you and not even know your name.Okay. You wanna have a name to call me? Fine. Call me Fred. STONY
CUT TO:
Miller snaps his fingers at the sergeant who’s standing nearby and moves his hand like he’s writing. The sergeant nods, takes a pen and notebook from his pocket, quickly turns to a blank page in his notebook, and writes.MILLER (repeats)
Fred.
Miller doesn’t believe Fred is the real name. He gestures at the sergeant indicating that’s all the name he got. The sergeant nods.MILLER Yeah, Fred, that’s a great name. My favorite uncle is named Fred. What a great guy. Uh, Fred what? You got a last name, Fred?(v.o. from phone, impatient) STONY
Would you forget with the uncle? Just Fred. You wanted a name, that’s what you got.
INT. MUSEUM BY DESK (AS BEFORE)MILLER Okay . . . Fred. Look, we want to help you out as much as we can. We know you’ve got innocent people in there and we don’t want anyone to get hurt. But we need to know the situation in there, Fred. You can understand that, right? Fred?CUT TO:
Stony lowers the phone from his ear and surveys the group of hostages for a few seconds, then puts the phone back to his ear.STONY Sure, Detective. What do you want to know?(v.o. from phone) MILLER
How many hostages are you holding, Fred?
Stony lowers the phone from his ear again and softly bites his lower lip, pensive.STONY Maybe 40 or 50.(v.o. from phone) MILLER
I need an exact count, Fred. And I need to know how everyone’s doing. Is anyone hurt? Does anyone need any medical attention?
Stony makes a decision. He rises from the desk and puts the phone back to his ear.MILLER (v.o. from phone)
Fred?
(beat)
Fred, are you still there?
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR (AS BEFORE)STONY Tell you what I’m gonna do, Detective, just to show you we can be reasonable people. I’m going to send one person out to you. Not one of my associates, mind you. One of the hostages. He’ll give you some information that you want, and he’ll tell you what we want. After he does that, he can go. A gesture of our good intentions. What do you say?CUT TO:
Miller turns back toward the museum and narrows his eyes as he considers Stony’s words.
The phone CLICKS in Miller’s ear as Stony hangs up. He presses the END button on his cell phone to terminate the call, pockets the cell phone again and picks up a two-way radio laying on the hood of his car and raises it near his mouth. He presses the transmit button.MILLER (after a brief pause)
Okay, Fred. We’ll be waiting.
CUT TO:MILLER (into radio)
Graves.(v.o. from radio after a brief pause) GRAVES
Yeah.(into radio) MILLER
Command Center. Now. A situation is developing.(v.o. from radio) GRAVES
On my way.
INT. MUSEUM NEAR T. REX EXHIBIT - DAY
Stony approaches the group and points directly at Chance.
CHANCE looks surprised. He raises both hands to his chest in a “Who, me?” gesture . He looks over his shoulder to Reyes, who is still standing near the back of the group of hostages.STONY You. Happy. Come here.
REYES tight-lipped, nods.
CHANCE turns his head back to Stony and walks over to him.
Chance stops a foot or so from Stony, a bit apprehensive.CHANCE (as he approaches Stony)
It’s Harper. Chance Harper.Whatever. STONY
CHANCE raises his eyebrows quizzically as Stony begins to smile.STONY (CONT.) Our friends outside want a little information about the situation in here, and I figure you’re just the guy to give it to them.
INT. MUSEUM BY FRONT DOORS - A FEW MINUTES LATER - DAYTIME CUT TO:
Chance, Reyes and Stony approach the front doors of the museum. Chance and Reyes walk nearly side-by-side while Stony walks a few paces behind, covering them with a pistol. Reyes is carrying some keys.
Chance and Reyes stop a few feet from the door, covered by the white sheets as before. Stony moves well off to the side of the door, removing himself from any possible line of fire from outside.STONY Hold it right there.
Chance moves over to the wall a few feet away from the front door.STONY Harper, stand next to the wall.
Reyes nods and moves to the front door. He begins to move the white sheets aside to get to the door lock.STONY (CONT.) Okay, farmer, nice and slow now, unlock the front doors and then back away from them. Try to go out and I’ll shoot you dead.
REYES nods again grimly and slowly moves the sheets aside, exposing the door. He slowly puts a key into the lock and turns it. The bolt makes a solid CLUNK as it slides out of the receiver into the door.STONY (CONT.) Nice and easy, now. You wouldn’t want one of our nervous friends outside to shoot you, would you?
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR - DAYCUT TO:
Miller and Graves stand together by the front fender of Miller’s car, staring intently at the front entrance of the museum. Miller’s radio crackles to life.
Miller picks up binoculars from the hood of the car and trains them on the front door.SWAT OFFICER ONE (v.o. from radio)
Command, Eagle One. Activity, front entrance.(keyes mic on his collar) GRAVES
Roger, Eagle One. Continue to monitor.
INSERT THROUGH BINOCULARSSWAT OFFICER ONE (v.o. from radio)
Ten-four.
Tony Reyes is framed in the doorway, removing the key from the lock. He backs away from the door and the while sheets fall back into place, covering where he had been standing. Several seconds pass, then a hand moves the white material aside again. Chance stands framed in the door for a second, then pulls it toward him enough to slip through it and walks outside. He looks in the direction of Miller’s car for a second, then looks left, then right, then walks down the steps toward Miller’s car.
RETURN TO SCENE
Miller lowers the binoculars and picks up his radio from the hood.
He returns the radio to the hood and puts the binoculars back to his eyes.MILLER All units, hold your fire. This is the messenger. Repeat, this is the messenger.
INSERT THROUGH BINOCULARS
Chance continues to approach them, walking quickly now. Miller shifts his view back to the front doors. A hand moves the white sheets aside and once more Reyes is in the doorway, sliding the key back in, locking the door behind Chance. He removes the key and backs away from the door. The white sheets fall back into place.
RETURN TO SCENE
Miller lowers the binoculars and puts them on the hood near the radio. Chance has nearly reached the car.
Miller walks to the front of the car and meets Chance. They shake hands.CHANCE Boy, am I glad to see you guys.
Miller turns toward Graves. Taking Chance’s elbow he steers him toward the SWAT commander.MILLER I’m Detective Tom Miller, the negotiator here.I’m Chance Harper. I’m a photographer for the Examiner. CHANCE
A reporter? GRAVES (O.S.)
Chance and Graves exchange a quick handshake.CHANCE Not a reporter, a photographer.(as they reach Graves) MILLER
This is Captain John Graves, commander of the tactical team here.
Graves and Miller exchange glances.CHANCE (to Graves and Miller)
I was here to photograph the opening of the dinosaur exhibit.What’s the situation in there, Mr. Harper? MILLER
It’s not good. And I think it’s going to get a whole lot worse. CHANCE
EXT. STREET BY MILLER’S CAR - SEVERAL MINUTES LATER - DAYTIME CUT TO:
Chance is leaning back against the front passenger door of Miller’s car. The sergeant has joined them and is writing notes in his notebook. Miller and Graves are giving Chance their full attention.
Miller raises an eyebrow in surprise.MILLER And you say this Stony guy smashed the only insulin shot that little girl had?‘Fraid so. One of them - the youngest one, the one they call Red - tried to talk him out of it, but Stony told him if you guys knew there was a really sick little girl inside who might die without medical attention pretty soon, you’d be more likely to cooperate with their demands. CHANCE
Just what are their demands? GRAVES
There are only two. CHANCE
Graves and Miller both arch their eyebrows at the jewelry store reference.CHANCE (CONT.) He said he was making it simple so it wouldn’t take a lot of time. Number one, they want a fully fueled helicopter with a minimum range of 300 miles to pick them up from the roof of the museum and fly them to a destination that they’ll only disclose to the pilot. There can’t be anyone else on the helicopter and the radio and transponder have to be turned off. If any snipers try to pick them off, they say they’ll detonate a bomb in the room where the hostages are, by remote control.(looking surprised) GRAVES
They’ve got a bomb?I haven’t seen one, but if these are the guys that robbed that jewelry store, they could have explosives on them and I just haven’t seen them. CHANCE
Miller starts to ask Chance how he got that information but Chance anticipates him before he can utter a single word.GRAVES What do you know about the jewelry store?I know it was robbed by three men dressed all in black who made their escape in a dark blue car. CHANCE
Chance stands up from his leaning position and points to the car in the parking lot.CHANCE (CONT.) I drove by the jewelry store on the way here, shortly after it was robbed. I got out to take some pictures for the paper and this old wino came out of the alley where he’d been sleeping behind a dumpster and told me he saw three guys dressed all in black run down the alley to a dark blue car. They took off their hoods before they got in the car and left. He only gave me a rough description of them but he specifically mentioned that one of them had red hair.(looking at Graves) MILLER
Red.I saw these three guys drive up and park a dark blue car in the lot across the street before they came over to the museum. I was suspicious then. Now I’ve got now doubt those three guys are the same ones who robbed the jewelry store. I think Red is wearing one of the stolen pieces of jewelry, a watch. CHANCE
Which car is theirs? MILLER
Miller looks at his wristwatch.CHANCE That one over there. See it?(squinting to pick it out) MILLER
Yeah. Sergeant, get some of our boys over to that car to have a look-see as soon as Mr. Harper is finished.Got it. SERGEANT
So you think we should take the bomb thing seriously? GRAVES
I’m no cop, but I’ve seen these guys in action. They can be pretty nasty. Especially Stony. CHANCE
(clarifying) MILLER
The one who said his name is Fred.Yeah. He seems to have a real chip on his shoulder. He killed both of the security guards like it was nothing and punched out that woman without blinking. Hurt her pretty bad, for no real reason. I think he’s capable of it and more than willing if it’ll serve his purposes. CHANCE
What’s the second demand? GRAVES
Three hundred thousand dollars in unmarked, non-sequentially numbered bills, placed inside paper bags, waiting inside the helicopter when it arrives. CHANCE
(facetiously) GRAVES
Only three hundred thousand?(shrugs) CHANCE
He said he wanted to make it simple. They’ll check the money when they get on board. If it’s not all there, they’ll detonate the bomb and kill the hostages.How much time do we have? MILLER
Till ten o’clock. CHANCE
INSERT FACE OF MILLER’S WRISTWATCH
It’s 3:25.
RETURN TO SCENE
Miller, Graves and Chance all exchange worried looks.MILLER That doesn’t give us a lot of time.I think that’s the idea. CHANCE
FADE OUT.
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