SOURCE CODE
Written by
Ben Ripley
1/18/2007
SOURCE CODE
Darkness.
A SOUND slowly builds: the rhythmic rocking of a TRAIN'S
WHEELS over RAILROAD TRACKS...
INT. HIGH SPEED TRAIN - MORNING
COLTER jolts awake. Sunlight hits his face.
He blinks. A stunned beat. He's disoriented.
Slowly he turns his head to one side...
PASSENGERS. Filling most of the seats. Office workers on
their morning commute into a city.
Turning the other way, he's confronted with a window. Trees
flash by, splitting the rising sunlight into a hypnotic
strobe pattern.
Colter looks to be thirty years old. A military buzz cut. A
disciplined physique, lean and spare, almost gaunt. Skin
burnished by years of desert sandstorms and equatorial sun.
His expression, prematurely aged by combat, is perpetually
wary, sometimes predatory, accustomed to trouble.
Despite his military bearing, Colter wears a button down
shirt and navy sports coat. On his wrist is a digital watch.
It reads 7:40 a.m.
He swallows. A strange, creeping panic.
He has no idea where he is.
EXT. NEW JERSEY COUNTRYSIDE - MORNING
The train hurls straight at us.
NEW ANGLE -- Skimming alongside as the train twists and
turns, sucking up track -- feet, yards, miles of it.
Beneath it, the curving rails, which the rushing train barely
seems to touch. They vibrate with an eerie, dulcimer HUM.
2.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter hasn't moved. By his side he sees a canvas MESSENGER
BAG. Is that his?
Tentatively, he lifts the edge of the bag to look inside. A
red APPLE rolls against two LIBRARY BOOKS. The bag's leather
NAME TAG reads: "SEAN FENTRESS."
It's not coming back to him. This whole experience is
starting to freak him out.
He catches the scent of something. A passenger walks by with
a STEAMING CUP OF COFFEE.
CHK-THOCK! Two rows back, an OVERWEIGHT MAN opens a can of
soda.
Sitting opposite Colter, facing him, is a WOMAN in her late
twenties (CHRISTINA). In contrast to the corporate suits
around her, her appearance is thrift store funky: black nail
polish, dark lipstick, black hair with blue streaks, a button-
down blouse edged in black funeral lace with silver skull-and-
bones cufflinks. She's busy writing in a journal.
COLTER
Ma'am?
Nothing.
COLTER
Excuse me... ma'am?
She looks up. Blank stare.
COLTER
What is this?
CHRISTINA
What's what?
COLTER
Where am I?
CHRISTINA
(looks out the window)
Almost at Newark.
Goes back to her journal.
COLTER
What's Newark? A city?
3.
CHRISTINA
It's more of a hell hole.
But Colter still doesn't understand. He gets up. Nausea
slams into him. He hangs on to the seat.
COLTER
Woah.
(BEAT)
I think I'm going to puke.
CHRISTINA
(gestures, alarmed)
Okay, bathroom's that way.
Colter looks down the aisle, hesitating.
CHRISTINA
Go. Seriously.
Colter eases himself into the aisle. Totters down the length
of the car until he finds the RESTROOM.
The door is LOCKED. The latch reads "OCCUPIED."
Bracing himself, he lurches forward into...
INT. TRAIN - SECOND CAR - MORNING
He freezes. It's a mirror image of the first car. But no,
the passengers are different.
Beside him there's a small door. Thinking it's the bathroom,
he instead opens it to find a CONDUCTOR'S COMPARTMENT. A
cramped office with chairs and surveillance monitors.
CONDUCTOR
Ticket?
A heavy-set CONDUCTOR stands in the aisle. A jangling of
keys. Colter just stares at him. Dazed.
CONDUCTOR
May I see your ticket?
The last thing on his mind. Bewildered, he searches his
pockets.
COLTER
I don't think I...
4.
CONDUCTOR
Have to write you up then.
He pulls out a citation pad.
COLTER
Is this...?
From inside his sports coat he pulls out a TRAIN TICKET. The
conductor snips his ticket and brushes past.
COLTER
Wait a sec. I'm a little out of it
here. Where's this train headed?
CONDUCTOR
New York. Penn Station.
COLTER
New York?
Why would he be going to New York? How can this be
happening? Fear starts to grip him as the hallucination
simply continues.
COLTER
Do you know where I got on?
The conductor examines his ticket again.
CONDUCTOR
Princeton Junction.
COLTER
Where's that?
CONDUCTOR
"˜Bout ten minutes back.
COLTER
But I've never been to Princeton
Junction. See... I don't remember
waking up or buying a ticket or
getting on the train or anything
else. It's just a blank.
CONDUCTOR
Lucky you.
The jaded conductor moves on. Colter is alone with his
confusion. Takes a deep breath. The nausea has eased
slightly.
5.
COLTER
Okay. You're gonna figure this
out.
INT. TRAIN - FIRST CAR - MORNING
Entering the first car again. The rows of passengers. Must
be at least forty people.
As he walks back up the aisle, he looks from face to face:
A pale COMPUTER ENGINEER reviews some documents.
A forty-something SECRETARY does a crossword puzzle.
DEREK, a stock broker type, talks on his cell phone:
DEREK
Trust me, by one o'clock, the
bridge is going to be jammed...
A COLLEGE STUDENT, slumped against a window, eyes shut,
listens to an MP-3 player.
An OLD MAN with a faded wool suit clutches a cane.
A BACKPACKER, female, European, 20s, hiking boots, examines a
guidebook.
A dowdy OFFICER MANAGER type sorts supermarket coupons into a
tabbed file box.
An African American EXECUTIVE reads a newspaper.
None of them pays any attention to Colter.
A WHOOSH of AIR -- he turns to
An AIR-CONDITIONING VENT. The HISS of AIR sound sinister.
Like the exhalations of a creature.
A SCRAPE. He looks to see
A woman FILING HER NAILS.
Colter cringes. Every detail, every sensory impression seems
heightened, near the point of overload.
He reaches Christina again. Eases back in the seat across
from her. She writes in her journal, ignoring him.
6.
There's something else in his sports coat. A WALLET. He
turns it over a few times, inspecting it. Pulls out a
DRIVER'S LICENSE. Another man's face is in the photo. The
name on the license reads: "SEAN FENTRESS." The same name as
on the messenger bag. The street address on the license
reads: "58 Alexander Road, Princeton Junction, New Jersey."
COLTER
Sean Fentress? Who the hell's
that?
And why does he have this guy's wallet? He leans forward to
speak with Christina again.
COLTER
Ma'am?
She lowers her journal, annoyed. We see she hasn't been
writing but DRAWING. A well-executed sketch of a face.
CHRISTINA
Why do you keep calling me ma'am?
How old do you think I am, anyway?
COLTER
I'm having a little problem here.
I'm trying not to freak out, but I
think something's happened to me.
CHRISTINA
Like what?
COLTER
Like, total memory loss. Complete.
I don't know how I got here.
CHRISTINA
So you drank too much last night.
So did I. Unfortunately, I
remember the whole thing.
COLTER
That's not it. See... I'm a pilot.
I fly helicopters in Iraq. I'm in
the army.
She waits for more. As if he's telling a joke.
COLTER
I was on a mission. Right before I
woke up here I was in the middle of
a mission...
7.
Wavering. Unsure of himself. His memories.
CHRISTINA
Boy, you really did drink a lot
last night.
COLTER
I'm telling you the truth.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
The train begins to SLOW DOWN. A few people begin to get up.
The platform of Newark Station slides into view.
COLTER
These aren't my clothes. And this
wallet here...
He holds up the driver's license. One final attempt to
convince her.
COLTER
You see this? This isn't me.
CHRISTINA
Of course it is.
COLTER
What?
CHRISTINA
Take a look in the mirror, good
sir.
The mirror? She goes back to her sketchbook. Determined not
to be interrupted again. Anxiety ripples through Colter.
COLTER
This can't be happening.
The train lurches to a stop.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
Colter gets up. Through the windows, a few passengers
disembark onto the platform: Derek, the Old Man, the College
Kid and GUZMAN, a Middle Eastern man, who HURRIES past all of
them towards the station building.
8.
Colter only half notices all this. He's intent on reaching
the train's BATHROOM, the door of which is now OPEN.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
All aboard. Doors are closing.
Christina watches Colter go. Curious.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
This is a New York bound train.
Next stop, New York - Penn Station.
The train begins MOVING. Colter reaches the bathroom.
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
A fluorescent light flutters on as Colter shuts the door.
He's in a tiny space with prefab restroom fixtures in
stainless steel.
He SHOUTS in surprise. Recoils backwards. Eyes locked on
THE MIRROR
Staring back is SEAN FENTRESS'S FACE. Not his own.
He's frozen there. Heart pounding. Seized by cosmic panic.
He SLAPS himself in the face. Hard.
COLTER
Wake up!
The restroom rattles and tilts with the motions of the train,
obliging him to hang on.
This isn't a dream. At least not one he can wake up from.
The other guy's face stares back at him. Blinks when he
blinks.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Warehouses go by in a blur. The train is entering New
Jersey's industrial zones on the outskirts of New York City.
From her seat, Christina stares at the messenger bag which
Colter left behind. Then up at the closed restroom door.
CUT TO:
BATHROOM DOOR
9.
Her hand knocks.
CHRISTINA
Hey. You okay in there?
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
Colter sits on the closed toilet seat. Head buried in his
hands. Scared. Desperate for it all to end.
INT. TRAIN - CONTINUOUS
Christina's holding Colter's messenger bag. She talks
through the closed door.
CHRISTINA
You left your bag on the seat.
Which is a flagrant violation of
rail security, leaving a suspicious
package behind and all that. I
probably saved you a huge fine.
No answer.
CHRISTINA
I'll just leave it right out here
for you.
She places the bag beside the door. She hesitates at the
door. The oddness of this situation.
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - CONTINUOUS
Colter stares into the mirror at the stranger's face.
Practically catatonic at this point. And then her voice --
CHRISTINA (O.S.)
If it'll help you remember, you've
been riding this train every
morning for three months.
Her words rouse him.
COLTER
(WHISPERS)
Three months?!
10.
INT. TRAIN - CONTINUOUS
Christina's walking back down the aisle.
The car rocks to one side as an EXPRESS TRAIN flashes by on
the opposite tracks, going the other way. A blur and a
whoosh, and it's gone.
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
On the verge of opening the door, Colter hears a METALLIC
RATTLING. Two SCREWS are rattling around in the sink.
Colter picks up a screw. Turns it over and over in his hand.
What are they doing in the sink?
He looks UP.
An overhead VENTILATION PANEL has been PRIED OPEN. Above it
is the darkness of a CRAWL SPACE.
Something is sitting up there.
From outside comes a TRAIN HORN.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Through the windows, a FREIGHT TRAIN is passing the other
way. A moving wall of metal boxcars and liquid tankers.
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
Colter looks up into the crawl space. Can't quite see the
object up there.
Moving carefully in the tiny space, he stands up on the
toilet. Grabbing onto the ventilation panel, he WRENCHES IT
all the way open. Then PULLS himself uncomfortably upward.
On tip-toes, he looks into crawl space and discovers
A MASSIVE BOMB
It's an enormous device. Several large CANNISTERS tied
together, full of sloshing liquid. Barely discernible behind
wires and gaffing tape is CELL PHONE -- the bomb's detonator.
COLTER
Jesus.
11.
Running footsteps from outside. Commotion. An ALARM sounds.
THE BOMB'S CELL PHONE RINGS -- THE DEVICE'S CIRCUIT CLOSES --
THE BOMB EXPLODES IN COLTER'S FACE WITH A HUGE AND DEAFENING
FORCE, INSTANTLY KILLING HIM.
INT. TRAIN - CONTINUOUS
THE FIREBALL RIPS THROUGH THE CAR -- KILLING CHRISTINA AND
ALL THE OTHERS.
EXT. TRAIN TRACKS - MORNING
Fuel lines explode in the other cars in a horrendous chain
reaction. The fire is spectacularly bright, lighting up the
windows of the rowhouse apartments facing the tracks.
Nearby TREES INCINERATE, mere matchsticks amid sheets of
flames.
On the rowhouses, a ALUMINUM DOOR MOLDINGS begin to MELT in
the intense heat.
One of the FREIGHT CARS, loaded down with coal, shuddering
from the blast, wobbles a few yards then PITCHES OVER --
ROLLING off the rails, tipping right off the elevated
tracks...
It FALLS through the air and SMASHES into the middle of an
traffic intersection below with a shattering force.
The cascade of EXPLOSIONS continues. Large portions of BOTH
TRAINS are ANNIHILATED, while the heat reduces the heavy-
gauge steel rails back to elemental, molten ore.
And then...
An odd sound, like a BALLOON loosing air or MACHINERY winding
down as we
DISSOLVE TO:
BRILLIANT WHITE. All sounds cease.
For exactly 1/3 OF A SECOND, a mysterious PATTERN OF LINES
appears. Like METAL RODS, maybe. RADIATING OUTWARDS. It
makes no sense. An abstract pattern.
Then it's gone. Many will not even see it.
12.
Now there is only darkness. Nothingness. Seconds pass.
The CLICK of an INTERCOM switching on.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
This is Beleaguered Castle.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
We're VERY CLOSE on Colter's UPSIDE DOWN face. His eyes
flutter open. He's surprised to find himself alive.
Consternation flashes through him as he discovers that he's
tightly strapped in. He now wears a military flight suit.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain Colter Stevens, this is
Beleaguered Castle. Acknowledge
transmission.
The measured calm of a mission controller's voice comes over
Colter's headset.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain Stevens, do you copy?
COLTER
Where am I?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
You're with Beleaguered Castle.
PULL BACK, fractionally, to reveal Colter in a tight and
confined CAPSULE. It bristles with sophisticated electronics
and ghostly glowing diodes. He's like an astronaut in an
orbiter craft.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Are you functional?
He tries to clear his head. He's still upside down.
COLTER
I'm dizzy.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Adjusting your rotation.
Very slowly, almost imperceptibly, Colter's upside-down face
begins to turn and right itself.
13.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Can you report at this time?
COLTER
What is this? Who am I talking to?
More confusion. No idea how to react. Just as on the train.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Report what you saw.
COLTER
When?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Just now.
COLTER
I was on a train.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
And?
COLTER
And... There was a bomb.
(PANICKING)
What the hell is going on?!
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Just relax, Captain.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
Later. We're still in the tiny chamber. It's stabilized.
As has Colter, but in the manner of a dangerous wild animal
given a sedative.
Embedded into the controls is a two inch-square VIDEO
MONITOR. It shows the face of GOODWIN. He's a middle-aged
communications officer. Although we know him as Goodwin, his
military name badge and rank insignia have been covered up.
He wears a headset and sits surrounded by banks of electronic
equipment and keyboards. He peers in at Colter, exuding the
blandness of a military flight controller.
GOODWIN
Standby for thread one of alpha
memory pattern.
14.
COLTER
Who are you?
GOODWIN
You already have that information,
Captain. Now think. Recall my
name.
A long moment. A name floats into his head.
COLTER
Goodwin?
GOODWIN
Correct.
COLTER
How do I know that? I have no idea
how I know your name's Goodwin.
GOODWIN
Commencing memory pattern.
COLTER
Listen to me. Something's wrong.
I was flying a mission. I was in a
chopper. Then I woke up on a
train. Now I'm here. Can you
explain that? What unit is this?
GOODWIN
You're with Beleaguered Castle.
COLTER
Who?
GOODWIN
You're with friends.
(PATIENTLY)
The exercises will assist you. Are
you ready?
Just like with the train, he seems to have no choice but to
go along with it.
GOODWIN
Memory Thread One. Listen to the
following passage: "When Lily woke,
she had the bed to herself. She
sat up, bewildered by the
strangeness of her surroundings;
then memory returned, and she
looked about her with a shiver.
(MORE)
15.
GOODWIN (CONT'D)
In the cold slant of light
reflected from the back wall of a
neighboring building, she saw her
evening dress and opera cloak lying
on a tawdry heap on a chair." End
of thread one.
Silence. Is it Colter's turn to speak?
COLTER
I don't get it. Is this a Red Flag
exercise?
GOODWIN
Thread Two. Listen. I am holding
the following hand of cards: Queen
of spades. Four of clubs. Nine of
clubs. Three of hearts. Nine of
hearts.
(BEAT)
I repeat: Queen of spades. Four of
clubs. Nine of clubs. Three of
hearts. Nine of hearts. End of
thread two.
Beads of sweat on Colter's forehead. What the hell?
GOODWIN
Thread Three. The following is a
recording of a Western Screech-Owl:
A rather spooky BIRD CALL plays -- a short whistle, followed
by a long trill. The call is repeated twice more.
GOODWIN
End of Thread Three. End of
pattern. Acknowledge.
Unexpectedly, in the back of his mind, a reply is there.
COLTER
A... Acknowledge. End of pattern.
How did he know to say that? A conditioned response?
GOODWIN
Stand by to initiate pattern
recall.
COLTER
Go for pattern recall.
The response comes to him more quickly. Like lines from an
old script. Even if it still baffles him.
16.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
The five playing cards. Arrange
them in order of descending values,
irrespective of suit.
He thinks for a moment. Focus. Play along. Maybe it will
all be okay.
COLTER
Queen, two nines, four and a three.
GOODWIN
That is correct. The passage I
read contained mention of a woman's
name. What was that name?
COLTER
Laurie.
(THEN)
No. Lily. Her name was Lily.
At each answer, Goodwin makes notations and adjusts gauges.
GOODWIN
That is correct. End of pattern.
Goodwin leans forward to flip a switch and EVERYTHING GOES
DARK.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
Over DARKNESS, the SOUND of BACKGROUND CONVERSATION.
Engineers speaking in technical jargon.
Click. The unit's VIDEO MONITOR comes on again, illuminating
Colter in its glow. He's still strapped into the capsule.
The tiny monitor shows an out of focus view of a LAB. Like a
movie camera inadvertently left on between takes.
ENGINEERS wander past, oblivious. Their disjointed
conversations continue at low volume.
Abruptly, a MAN SMOKING A PIPE sits down in front of the
camera. His graying hair is windblown and unkempt. His eyes
are piercing blue. He wears a track and field warm-up
jacket. He looks in at us with an unsettling Cheshire-cat
grin. He puffs on his pipe. Winks. Pressing a button he --
Click -- shuts the whole thing off again. Sound and picture
vanish. Leaving us suspended.
17.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
An indeterminate amount of time has passed. Goodwin is back
on the monitor.
GOODWIN
Please list the primary
specifications of the aerial
platform you've been trained to
operate.
Colter mulls his options. Should he talk? Keep silent? He
tugs against the steel harness holding him in. A HATCH, like
the kind used on submarines, seals the capsule.
Goodwin's voice grows slightly louder over his headset.
GOODWIN
Please list the primary
specifications of the aerial
platform you've been trained to
operate.
COLTER
Is someone going to tell me what's
going on here?
GOODWIN
Please list the primary --
COLTER
The UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopter
weighs 20,250 pounds with a maximum
exterior load capacity of 8,000
pounds. It has a range of 320
nautical miles and is armed with
two 7.62 millimeter machine guns.
GOODWIN
That is correct.
(SUDDENLY REDIRECTS)
Who bombed the train?
COLTER
The train.
GOODWIN
Who bombed the train, Captain?
COLTER
I have no idea.
18.
GOODWIN
Whom do you suspect bombed the
train?
COLTER
I don't know!
GOODWIN
You didn't see?
COLTER
Will you tell me what the hell is
going on here?
GOODWIN
The Screech-Owl song can be seen as
a progression of musical notes.
Did the notes go up, down or remain
at the same pitch?
COLTER
I don't know. Just tell me --
GOODWIN
How many times was the bird call
repeated?
COLTER
What does this have to do with the
train?
GOODWIN
How many times was the bird call
repeated?
COLTER
Twice.
GOODWIN
Incorrect. Who bombed the train,
Captain?
COLTER
I don't know who bombed the train!
Colter is seething now. Had it with these games.
GOODWIN
You have seventeen minutes. Use
them. Find the bomber.
ON SCREEN -- Goodwin leans forward to press a button and --
19.
Click. Everything goes dark. We HEAR Colter's nervous
BREATHING.
COLTER (V.O.)
Hey. What's happening?
The HUM of machinery starting up.
COLTER (V.O.)
Goddamn it, Goodwin, what is all
this?
The machinery HUM changes modulation. Then gives way to a
GENTLE ROCKING SENSATION. Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk. Tha-thunk.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter opens his eyes...
SUNLIGHT hits his face. In flickering patterns. He turns to
LOOK OUT
A TRAIN WINDOW
At the passing woodland scenery.
He's back on the train. Back in the same navy sports coat.
Across from him, Christina is at work on her sketch pad.
Just like before. Other commuters all around him.
Everything is exactly the same as before.
Note: The remaining story will follow this "binary pattern."
Scenes will take place either on the train or in the capsule.
Compared to tomb-like isolation chamber he just came from,
the train is exploding with sensory input -- the smell of
steaming coffee, the cramped proximity of other passengers,
the crinkle of an freshly-ironed dress shirt, the glint of a
buckle on a purse, the slanting sunlight, the trees out the
window, bursting with summer leaves.
Almost unintentionally, Colter finds himself repeating the
same opening actions as last time -- checking his watch (7:40
a.m.)... turning at the scent of passing coffee... peeking in
the canvas messenger bag beside him...
This time, however, he takes the books out of the messenger
bag. The books are stamped "NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY."
He also takes out the APPLE. Sniffs it. Takes a bit. It's
good. No, it's awesome. Crisp and delicious.
20.
Is Goodwin watching him from somewhere?
Not knowing what else to do, he takes a few more bites.
Enjoying this small pleasure.
He reaches in his sports jacket pocket and pulls out his
TRAIN TICKET.
CLOSE ON -- THE TICKET. It hasn't been punched yet.
CHK-THOCK! The Overweight Man opens his can of soda. Just
as before.
COLTER
It's a goddamn simulation.
Christina's pen stops sketching. She glances up.
COLTER
A three dimensional, completely
immersive scenario. Touch, taste,
sound, sight and smell.
A measure of relief. A way to think about all this.
CHRISTINA
Are you talking to me?
COLTER
Complete with pretty girl.
CHRISTINA
Pretty girl.
COLTER
Every combat simulator has one. In
the middle of a fire fight a pop-up
window starts playing a porno.
(CONFIDENT NOW)
You're an unusual choice for a
distraction.
CHRISTINA
And you're a moron.
Disregarding her, Colter gets up. Pursuing a new line of
action. The only way he can make sense of this. He starts
walking up the rows.
COLTER
Find the bomber. Find the bomber.
The conductor approaches him.
21.
CONDUCTOR
Ticket?
Expecting this now, Colter hands over his ticket to be
punched.
COLTER
Everything okay today, chief?
CONDUCTOR
Say what?
COLTER
Anything out of the ordinary?
The conductor frowns at him. Who is this guy?
CONDUCTOR
Please take a seat, sir.
Colter moves on. He looks for suspects. We've seen the
faces before -- the Computer Engineer, the Secretary, the
Stock Broker, the Backpacker and so on.
All seems normal. He finds himself focusing on a jumble of
unfiltered details -- Suits. Ties. Shoes. Skirts.
Watches. Newspapers. Coffee cups. Litter.
Sudden dizziness. He grabs a seatback for support. Sensory
details slam into him. We go EXTREMELY CLOSE ON:
The STITCHING on a leather purse.
A FOUNTAIN PEN rattling in a fold-out tray.
AIR CONDITIONING hissing from a vent.
A CRUMPLING SOUND as the Overweight Man crushes an empty soda
can.
TAP, TAP, TAP -- the Computer Engineer tapping his foot on
the floor. Faster and faster.
Derek, the Wall Street Type, talks on his phone:
DEREK
Trust me, by one o'clock, the
bridge is going to be jammed...
Then... the CLICK of a LOCK UNLATCHING.
22.
The restroom door swings open. GUZMAN, the Middle Eastern
man, emerges. After a furtive glance around, he quickly
takes a seat.
Now Colter makes the connection. The bomb in the restroom.
The Middle Eastern man emerging from the same restroom.
Colter starts down the long aisle.
In his seat, Guzman slips on dark glasses. He looks
forbidding with his mustache and olive-colored skin.
COLTER
How's it going?
Colter stands in front of him, arms crossed. Behind his dark
glasses, Guzman ignores him, but he's visibly uncomfortable.
COLTER
What's your name?
Guzman is stock still. Beads of sweat on his forehead. The
conductor appears, accosting Colter.
CONDUCTOR
Didn't I tell you to take a seat?
COLTER
Goodwin? Where are you? It's
over. I found him.
Appealing to Goodwin's invisible presence. But nothing
happens.
CONDUCTOR
Who are you talking to?
An edgy silence. Other passengers looking over. Colter's
about to retort, about to accuse Guzman, when he stops.
It's too easy.
Colter senses the uproar he's about to create. Which just
might be a mistake. He reconsiders.
COLTER
Sorry. This guy seemed a little...
anxious. I was worried about him.
GUZMAN
(THICK ACCENT)
I am minding my business. Tell him
to mind his.
23.
The conductor has noticed Guzman's white-knuckle uneasiness.
CONDUCTOR
You feeling all right, sir?
With a pained smile, Guzman loosens his collar.
GUZMAN
Motion sickness, I'm afraid. I
believe I will get off at the next
stop.
CONDUCTOR
Very well.
The conductor turns back to Colter.
COLTER
Okay. I'm sitting down.
Turning away, he finds a seat. He studies Guzman out of the
corner of his eye.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
The train begins to slow down.
Several rows up, he sees Christina. She looks back at him
with distaste.
A small number of passengers get up, among them the College
Student. He catches Colter's attention as he picks up a
WALLET from a seat and catches up with Derek, the Stock
Broker, who's about to get off the train.
COLLEGE STUDENT
Hey, you dropped this.
DEREK
(relieved, takes back the
WALLET)
Wow. Thanks.
The College Student waits to get off. Colter now eyes him
closely.
As the train pulls to a stop, Guzman forcefully pushes
forward towards the doors, moving with a barely contained
urgency.
24.
GUZMAN
Excuse me... Please let me
through...
COLTER
(TO HIMSELF)
Jesus, he's running away.
EXT. NEWARK PLATFORM - MORNING
The doors slide open.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
The Old Man, Derek and the College Kid get off. Guzman
hurries past them towards the station house.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
All aboard. Doors are closing.
Just before the doors close, Colter steps out onto the
platform. Eyes locked on Guzman -- who disappears inside the
station house.
The train PULLS OFF, leaving Colter behind. Did he make the
right move?
As he goes to pursue Guzman, Colter is struck by more sensory
IMPRESSIONS:
The STATION CLOCK. Its digital numerals flash 7:50 a.m.,
hurting Colter's eyes with their brightness.
The dying HISS of the rails as the train recedes down the
track.
The super-sharp glint of a PENNY embedded down in the gravel
of the tracks.
The melancholy SIGH of trees in the wind.
Pushing it all aside, he hurries after Guzman.
INT. NEWARK STATION HOUSE - MORNING
Entering, Colter stops. There's no sign of Guzman. Just an
empty marble lobby. A lone CLERK restocks timetable
brochures at a display.
25.
COLTER
A guy just came through here. Did
you see where he went?
CLERK
(not looking up)
Lots of guys come through here.
Windows look out over the station's parking lot. There's no
sign of Guzman out there.
COLTER
He was just here. A Middle Eastern-
looking guy.
Through the platform doors comes Derek, followed by the
College Kid. Derek heads for the parking lot, while the
College Kid mills around the newspaper stand.
A muffled COUGH.
Colter spins. Sees a door marked "MEN'S ROOM."
INT. NEWARK STATION - MEN'S ROOM - MORNING
Pushing open the door, Colter discovers a row of 1930's-era
sinks and stalls. An intercom crackles to life:
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
The train to Philadelphia will be
four minutes late... The train to
Philadelphia will be four minutes
late...
Colter's footsteps echo down the length of the deserted men's
room. The last stall door is SHUT.
From within the closed stall, comes the sound of VOMITING.
Colter edges closer.
A toilet FLUSHES. Guzman emerges from the stall. Looks
awful. Freezes when he sees Colter.
COLTER
All better now?
Guzman's face hardens. He goes to the sink to wash his
hands.
COLTER
Don't much care for trains myself.
26.
The bathroom mirror, of course, reflects back Sean Fentress's
face, not Colter's. Guzman does not seem to notice this
disparity. He picks up his briefcase and briskly walks out.
Colter takes an uneasy look at Fentress looking back at him
in the mirror, then follows Guzman out.
INT. NEWARK STATION - MORNING
Colter emerges in the lobby. Guzman is nearby. A bit
indecisive. Colter wanders over to the newspaper stand.
The STATION CLOCK reads 7:54 a.m.
Colter looks down at HIS WATCH: THREE MINUTES remaining.
What will Guzman do?
Guzman glances over at Colter, then heads through the doors
and back out on the train platform.
EXT. NEWARK STATION - MORNING
Guzman sits on a bench. Colter stops nearby him.
GUZMAN
I resent this. This is harassment.
You obviously work for someone.
FBI. CIA.
(BITTER)
I expected this reception in your
country.
COLTER
How are you going to pull this off?
That bomb has a cell phone
detonator. And I don't see a pay
phone around here. So I'm betting
you got a phone on you with the
number already programmed in.
GUZMAN
I have no idea what you're talking
about. I am an international
business man. An executive.
The tracks begin to VIBRATE. In the distance comes the HORN
of an EXPRESS TRAIN approaching.
COLTER
Open your briefcase. Prove to me
there's no phone in there.
27.
GUZMAN
(STANDS UP)
I will prove nothing to you. Leave
me alone.
WHAM! Colter PUNCHES Guzman with tremendous force, sending
Guzman sprawling to the ground.
Colter's hand throbs from the force of the punch. The
simulation's reality stuns Colter all over again.
Crouching down, Colter pops open Guzman's briefcase. Inside
is a corporate IDENTIFICATION BADGE with Guzman's name and
photograph on it. The company is Shell Oil.
COLTER
(READING)
"Hasnan Guzman, Vice President,
Shell Oil." Must be a cover.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Philadelphia train now approaching.
Guzman groans in pain. Colter rifles through his briefcase.
COLTER
Where the hell's your phone?
Another look at HIS WATCH -- 20 SECONDS.
Grabbing Guzman, Colter goes through his suit pockets. He
triumphantly pulls out GUZMAN'S CELL PHONE and steps back.
Guzman looks up at him, eyes moist with humiliation and
malice.
COLTER
I thought so. Now let's see you
try to --
A distant THUD rattles the station windows. Colter pivots,
looks down the tracks. The first thing he sees is
THE EXPRESS TRAIN
Closing in on the station.
The second thing he sees, far beyond it, miles further down
the tracks, is the RISING PLUME of a HUGE EXPLOSION.
Colter looks back at Guzman in shock. Then down at Guzman's
cell phone. Which has remained off.
28.
COLTER
You didn't do it.
Disbelief. As the din of the distant explosion is drowned
out by the ROAR of
THE ARRIVING EXPRESS TRAIN
With a cry of rage Guzman SPRINGS UP and PUSHES COLTER INTO
THE PATH OF THE ON-COMING EXPRESS TRAIN -- with a blast of
its horn, THE TRAIN RUNS HIM OVER.
Everything stops.
Like film celluloid catching fire in a projector, the world
itself BLISTERS AND BURNS INTO SEARING WHITE... into
smothering, forgetful SILENCE...
For exactly 2/3 of a second (1/3 of a second longer than
before), the same flickering after-image appears:
THIN LINES -- RADIATING OUTWARD --
This time they all connect into
THE SPOKES OF A WHEEL. A BICYCLE WHEEL.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
The SOUND of MACHINERY STRAINING. Colter is SLAMMED back
into his seat -- back in the capsule. All he can do is hang
on and gasp for air.
COLTER
Holy fuck!
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Stabilize. Lower your pulse.
Colter opens his eyes. He's back in his military flight
suit.
The craft goes still. Cautiously, he releases his hands from
their grip on the seat restraints. He looks like he's
sweated off five pounds.
GOODWIN
Do you need to urinate?
COLTER
A fucking train just ran over me.
29.
GOODWIN
Do you need to urinate?
COLTER
How are you doing this? Am I on
some kind of drug?
GOODWIN
Did you find the bomber?
COLTER
I didn't find the bomber. You
fooled me with the Middle Eastern
guy. I went for the diversion.
What kind of freaky simulation is
this? Let me out of here!
GOODWIN
Which Middle Eastern guy? Be
specific.
COLTER
Guzman. Shell Oil. Look, I don't
have intel experience. Why do you
have me doing this?
GOODWIN
You've already been told what you
need to know. Discipline your
memory. Limit your operational
awareness to the tasks we assign
you. Everything else is
irrelevant.
COLTER
Irrelevant? Killing me each time
is irrelevant?
GOODWIN
You do not die. As you can see,
you simply return to us.
COLTER
How? How can you do that?
Silence.
COLTER
Who's the man with the pipe?
GOODWIN
Say again?
30.
COLTER
There was a man smoking a pipe. I
saw him on the monitor. Who's he?
How does he fit into this?
GOODWIN
The man with the pipe isn't here
right now.
COLTER
Let me talk to him. This isn't
right. I'm not your prisoner.
Goodwin makes technical adjustments to dials and gauges.
GOODWIN
You feel unsatisfied with our
relationship?
COLTER
What is this? Why are you talking
like that? Is this some kind of
script?
GOODWIN
If Guzman, the Middle Eastern man,
is innocent, as you maintain, who
might be the guilty party?
COLTER
Who cares? I'm tired of this.
GOODWIN
This isn't a game, Captain.
COLTER
Then what is it? Don't you already
know who the bomber is? Don't you
have all the answers?
GOODWIN
We have no answers. Only corpses.
A weird beat.
COLTER
Corpses? Whose corpses? The
passengers?
GOODWIN
Some were too badly burned to be
identified.
(MORE)
31.
GOODWIN (CONT'D)
The heat from the explosion fused
many of them completely into the
wreckage.
Is this the truth? Or another evasive answer? His mind
pulled in all kinds of unpleasant directions.
COLTER
These were real people?
GOODWIN
Yes.
COLTER
This really happened?
GOODWIN
Yes.
COLTER
When?
GOODWIN
Today.
COLTER
Today?! The train blew up today?
GOODWIN
It was attacked this morning, at
7:57 a.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Six miles outside of New York City.
Colter's head is spinning.
COLTER
You're lying. I don't believe it.
GOODWIN
What do your senses tell you?
His senses tell him it's true. But how can he accept it?
COLTER
Where am I, right now, as we speak?
GOODWIN
With Beleaguered Castle.
COLTER
My unit's still in Iraq. I'm
flying missions in Iraq. I flew
one yesterday!
32.
GOODWIN
Your unit was rotated Stateside
three weeks ago.
The news comes like a slap in the face. Colter clearly has
no memory of this.
COLTER
Then why do I still have Iraqi dirt
underneath my fingernails?
Goodwin simply makes another adjustment on the controls.
COLTER
Talk to me! Three weeks? I've
been back three weeks? How'd I get
in here? Have I seen my family?
Does my father know I'm home?
"˜Cause I'd kinda like to tell him
if that's the case.
GOODWIN
Listen up, soldier.
Goodwin hunches forward, putting his elbows on his desk. As
he does so, he inadvertently reveals a glimpse of his
military unit SHOULDER PATCH. The insignia contains wings
and a lightning bolt against a background of stars.
Underneath it is written "CAOC-N."
GOODWIN
The train is just the beginning.
Our intel says there are more
attacks are coming today. And
they're linked with the train.
Time is of the essence. Do you
understand?
Colter barely hears. He's fixated on that shoulder patch.
GOODWIN
Captain?
COLTER
I'm listening.
GOODWIN
D.N.I. Counterterrorism has come up
with the five most likely follow-up
targets in the New York area.
(MORE)
33.
GOODWIN (CONT'D)
They are, in no order of
importance, the Holland Tunnel,
Newark International Airport, the
Brooklyn Bridge, Penn Station and
the Empire State Building. It
could be any of them, it could be
none of them. Whatever it is, if
you find the bomber and learn his
plan, the next one we might be in a
position to prevent. Those are
your orders.
It's too much information to process. Colter's head spins
with questions.
COLTER
Wait. If I'm somehow on that train
before it blows up, why don't I
just dismantle the bomb?
GOODWIN
Those are not your orders.
COLTER
But all those people dying...
GOODWIN
Those are not your orders. You are
not to influence events any more
than you need to in order to
accomplish your mission.
Military priorities. Defying comprehension.
COLTER
I didn't volunteer for this shit.
GOODWIN
Would you like to see the release
form you signed?
COLTER
(EXASPERATED)
How do I know it's real? How do I
know you didn't force me to sign
it? And how the hell can I be put
on a train over and over again -- a
train I never was really on?!
He might as well be talking to a wall.
COLTER
I don't believe in time travel,
Goodwin. There's no such thing.
34.
Machinery begins to RUN. Like the WHINE of a JET ENGINE
firing up.
GOODWIN
Only one way forward, Captain.
Seventeen minutes. Find the truth.
COLTER
Why seventeen? Why me? Why
anything?
The capsule begins to SHAKE.
COLTER
Let me out! Don't send me back
there!
SFX: UP ON a HUGE ROAR as --
EXT. TRAIN TRACKS - MORNING
THE TRAIN hurls down the tracks.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Landscape flies by. Colter's forehead rests against the
glass window. Piercing sunlight.
COLTER
Shit. This is not happening.
He leans back in his seat, as if just another beaten down
office worker on the train.
CHRISTINA
Ain't life grand?
Across from him, Christina sketching. A gentle smirk. He
focuses in on her. Not knowing where else to begin.
COLTER
You an artist?
CHRISTINA
I went to art school. Doesn't make
me an artist.
COLTER
Can I see what you're working on?
35.
Her pencil pauses. She eyes Colter.
CHRISTINA
I'd rather not.
He looks down at his watch. 7:41 a.m. He's been back for
one minute. Adjusting the settings, he changes the digital
display to COUNT DOWN the remaining SIXTEEN MINUTES.
He tries again for human contact.
COLTER
You don't look like you belong
here. The way you're dressed.
CHRISTINA
You certainly do.
COLTER
I'd really like to see what you're
working on. Unless you're worried
I won't like it.
CHRISTINA
It's private. And your opinion
doesn't interest me.
COLTER
So you scribble away on that thing
so as not to deal with people.
She scowls. Tosses the sketch pad onto his lap. Surprised,
Colter opens it. It's full of faces -- thumbnail portraits
of other passengers riding the train. They're exquisitely
observed, darkly stylized into expressions of loneliness.
COLTER
They're amazing.
CHRISTINA
I wouldn't go that far.
COLTER
Seriously, they're really good,
Miss...?
CHRISTINA
Christina.
COLTER
My name's Colter. How many of
these passengers have you drawn?
36.
CHRISTINA
All of them, practically.
She leans forward, eyes glinting conspiratorially.
CHRISTINA
I know all about them.
COLTER
You know all about them?
CHRISTINA
I'm a collector of moments.
(DISCREETLY GESTURING)
That woman over there? She's a
patent attorney with three kids and
a summer place on Long Island.
More important, however, she colors
her hair herself and wears the same
houndstooth check suit every third
Wednesday. The nebbishy fellow
behind her always calls into his
office three minutes before we go
into the tunnel. And the guy with
the shaved head and leather jacket
eating a scone has a profile
identical to that of Julius Caesar.
A click of the restroom door opening. Guzman emerges from
the bathroom and returns to his seat.
COLTER
(RE: GUZMAN)
What about that guy?
Christina looks over Guzman.
CHRISTINA
I haven't seen him before today.
(LOOKING CLOSER)
He's cranky. Thinks the worst of
people.
COLTER
Dangerous?
CHRISTINA
Everyone's dangerous.
COLTER
You see anything unusual happen
this morning? Anything out of the
ordinary?
37.
CHRISTINA
I'm not sure I know what you mean.
COLTER
Has anyone else come out of that
bathroom that you remember?
She takes a closer look at him. A puzzled smile.
CHRISTINA
Who are you?
Colter hesitates. Debating.
COLTER
Don't you know? Haven't you seen
me here every day for, what, three
months?
CHRISTINA
Something's different about you
today.
COLTER
If I told you that there's a
terrorist on this train, that I was
sent here to catch him, would you
believe me?
CHRISTINA
Most fervently.
COLTER
Then tell me which one you'd
arrest.
Christina pages through her sketch pad again. Considering
different faces.
CHRISTINA
They're all so utterly normal.
That's what's terrifying about
them. Perhaps there's more than
one. A team at work. The patent
attorney in cahoots with Julius
Caesar and the nebbishy guy. And
don't forget the sullen college
kid. He's the expendable one. But
they're all controlled by this good-
looking stock broker.
She shows him her sketch of Derek, the Stock Broker.
38.
CHRISTINA
Blond, blue eyed, hyper alert. The
perfect Machiavellian operative.
Out for himself. He'll betray them
all in the end.
She's not taking him seriously.
COLTER
Never mind.
He gets up. Foolish of him to confide in her. His watch now
reads THIRTEEN MINUTES.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
The train begins to slow. Derek, Guzman, the Old Man and the
College Kid head towards the exit doors.
CHRISTINA
(STAGE WHISPER)
He's getting away...!
Colter moves aside to let them walk past.
COLTER
(CURT DISMISSAL)
Thanks for your help, ma'am.
CHRISTINA
Ma'am? How old do you think I am?
COLTER
I don't know. Thirty two?
Her icy glare tells him he's guessed too high.
EXT. NEWARK STATION - MORNING
The disembarking passengers exit the platform.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
The train is moving again. In the exit area, Colter watches
the station disappear. He's doing this all wrong.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Next stop New York Penn Station.
39.
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
The two screws rattle in the sink. Colter gazes up at the
half-opened ventilation shaft -- and at the edge of the
sinister bomb planted there.
Back down to the mirror. Sean Fentress's face. The most
baffling mystery of all.
COLTER
What happened, Fentress? Who are
you? How can I be you?
FLASHCUT -- Back in the isolation unit. On the monitor, the
glimpse of Goodwin's SHOULDER PATCH INSIGNIA. The unit
initials "CAOC-N."
Back to scene. Colter churning over the thought.
COLTER
"CAOC-N." What unit is that?
A KNOCK on the door.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Through the windows comes the blur of the EXPRESS TRAIN
whizzing past (the same train which previously ran over
Colter).
Emerging from the bathroom, Colter discovers Christina there.
CHRISTINA
Who were you talking to?
COLTER
Leave me alone.
Colter walks off. Irked at his change in tone, she follows
him, carrying his messenger bag.
CHRISTINA
My pleasure, okay? It's just that
you left your bag on your seat.
(trying to be cute)
It's a flagrant violation of rail
security, leaving a suspicious
package behind and all that. Maybe
you're the terrorist.
This is too much. Colter turns on her. Paranoid.
40.
COLTER
Terrorist? Why did you say that?
CHRISTINA
I was joking.
COLTER
Stop joking. Who are you? Are you
an operative?
CHRISTINA
I had no idea you were so
thoroughly weird. I'm not entirely
sure I like it.
COLTER
Why do you have sketches of
everybody on board? Are you part
of this?
CHRISTINA
Part of what?
COLTER
I can have you arrested. Maybe
that's the only way you'll drop the
bullshit and talk. Stay put. I'm
getting help.
She sees he's serious and drops her arch playfulness. Speaks
in a flat, sober voice.
CHRISTINA
Who am I? I'll tell you. I'm
twenty seven years old. I have no
savings and no health insurance.
He turns back. Waits. The more she speaks, the angrier she
gets.
CHRISTINA
Six months ago I moved back in with
my parents because I ran out of
money. I got A's in line drawing
and advanced oil painting but no
one's buying my stuff. Two weeks
ago I put away all my paints. My
little sketch book is the last
thing left. You see, I'm not a
artist. I'm a receptionist in a
law firm. The only thing I operate
is a phone switchboard.
41.
The stark reality of her life.
The HORN of the FREIGHT TRAIN yanks his attention to the
windows. Up ahead are the row houses opposite which the
train exploded. Time is running down.
CHRISTINA
Now let me tell you about you. You
work at the New York Public
Library. You've been eyeing me for
months on this train but haven't
said a word to me. You're bland
and colorless and predictable. And
now I see you're delusional, too.
Colter doesn't hear her. He's still looking out the window.
COLTER'S POV
Above the row houses, a COMMERCIAL AIRLINER is climbing
serenely into the blue after take-off out of Newark Airport.
The view is wiped away as the FREIGHT TRAIN comes surging
past the windows. But the sight of the plane has already
caused something to click in Colter's head.
COLTER
Son of a bitch. "CAOC-N." That's
not army. That's Air Force.
Combined Air and Space Operations
Center. Nellis Air Force Base!
CHRISTINA
Are you mocking me?
COLTER
They're running this whole thing
out of Nellis Air Force Base in
Nevada. Fucking Nevada!
Tears in Christina's eyes. That Colter would persist in this
delusion after what she's confessed about herself.
COLTER
(racking his brain)
What's there? What's on that base?
B-52s. KC tankers. Air Combat
Command. Predator Drones. Remote
operations.
(something to this)
This a remote operation.
(FINALLY)
What if it is time travel?
42.
A worried CONDUCTOR runs past them, talking rapidly into his
radio. We catch the words "bomb threat."
COLTER
What did he say?
A WARNING ALARM begins beeping. Passengers look around
uneasily. Christina, however, focuses her anger on Colter.
CHRISTINA
Do me a favor. Don't ever talk to
me again.
She drops his messenger bag at his feet and walks away.
Colter looks down at his watch. THE LAST SECONDS TICK AWAY --
5... 4... 3...
COLTER
Christina!
He grabs her -- she struggles against him --
CHRISTINA
Get off me!
But he HOLDS HER TIGHT, shielding her with his body and
squeezing his eyes shut as --
THE EXPLOSION RIPS THROUGH THE TRAIN -- EVERYTHING VAPORIZES.
Blinding light. Painful to look at.
Like a star exploding.
A dull, hollow sound of WIND rattling through an abyss.
And then the ghostly still life. Details flicker into view:
A bicycle. A stone wall. And next to it...
A woman.
It's Christina. Turning to look at us. A gentle, reassuring
smile.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
Click -- click. Click -- click. The video monitor is
malfunctioning. It flickers on and off, revealing Colter's
face in and out of darkness.
43.
The capsule is nearly shut down. The controls appear non-
functional. Ice crystals have formed over the circuitry.
Colter hugs himself, shivering. His breath is visible in the
capsule's tomb-like cold.
COLTER
Goodwin? What's happening? Come
in. Can you read me? It's goddamn
cold in here.
He hits a few buttons. Almost at random. The VENTS which
had been blowing in air FALL SILENT.
COLTER
Goodwin, I'm losing oxygen.
The monitor fizzles out. The light from the controls FADES.
COLTER
Goodwin!
It's now COMPLETELY DARK.
He BANGS on the side of the capsule. Just a muffled thump.
A terrifying silence.
The SNAP of a harness releasing. A THUD as Colter falls to
the floor of the capsule. Cursing. Some sounds of thrashing
around. Then...
The SPARK of a BLUE FLARE illuminates Colter's face. He's
activated a miniature signal light on his flight suit. It
begins to BLINK. Like a beacon for downed pilots afloat in
the sea. It is the only light in the otherwise dead capsule.
Up on his knees, he grasps the release handles of the EXIT
HATCH. Using all his strength he TURNS...
But the handles don't budge. The hatch remains sealed.
He gets to his feet. Can't stand up fully. The capsule is
incredibly cramped.
Rifling through a cabinet, he discovers OPERATIONAL MANUALS
in small, almost illegible type. And a small set of TOOLS.
He spreads them out on the tiny ledge. Taking a wrench, he
BANGS on the escape hatch. A deep, clanging ECHO in the
hull.
44.
So, like any pilot would, he sets about repairing his craft.
At first he puzzles over the electronics and circuitry.
Daunted by the complexity.
There's no time to lose. Using a miniature screw driver, he
begins unscrewing the monitor panel. His fingers are slow
and clumsy in the frigid cold and the screw driver slips out
of his hands.
LATER
Icicles have appeared over dormant air vents. Colter, ice
crystals in his hair, is shivering more violently. Much of
the capsule's electronics lay open and exposed.
Using copper wires, he's attempting to revive a row of
BATTERIES. They spark once... twice... Nothing.
COLTER
Come on!
Another SPARK. It shocks him. There's a puff of blue smoke.
He's burned his fingers.
But the battery now has a tiny BLINKING GREEN LIGHT.
Working fast, Colter attaches the copper wires to the leads
on the battery. From inside the engines comes a faint
electric HUM.
FFFT. The monitor awakens. Like a film projector it throws
the image of a PLAYING CARD onto the opposite side of the
craft.
Colter begins replacing the monitor components. As he does,
a pre-recorded AUDIO FILE comes on:
GOODWIN (V.O.)
-- four principle dialects of
Arabic: Egyptian, Gulf, Syrian-
Lebanese and North African. We
will now play you portions of each,
discussing the audible differences
between them.
CLIPS of SPOKEN ARABIC begin to play.
Colter continues reconstituting the computer. The monitor
fills with scrolling lines of COMPUTER CODE.
With an oddly low-tech CLANG, the heart of the machine
reawakens. The air vents come back to life. Heat starts to
return. The icicles begin to DRIP.
45.
Colter sits back in his seat, exhausted from the work.
The monitor switches to a real-time view of the LAB.
Goodwin's chair is there, but Goodwin is not in sight. In a
background distorted by the FISH-EYE LENS, various
technicians wander by.
COLTER
Hello? Anyone out there? It's me.
He toggles an audio jack. Then a MAN comes walking up.
Frowns into the camera, as if through the foggy lens of
another world.
It's the MAN WITH THE PIPE. The elusive Bohemian scientist
whom Colter glimpsed once before. He will be known as
RUTLEDGE.
COLTER
Can you hear me?
Rutledge is tinkering with the camera. The image shakes for
a moment as he adjusts it. Then puts on a headset.
RUTLEDGE
Project designer initiating
sequence and drives check.
COLTER
I'm here! I'm okay!
Rutledge checks his headset. Not sure he heard right.
RUTLEDGE
Is someone there?
COLTER
Yeah. It's me. Colter.
Rutledge blinks in surprise. The blue eyes sparkling.
RUTLEDGE
Wow! It's you.
COLTER
The capsule lost power. It's still
pretty cold in here.
RUTLEDGE
We've been working towards you from
the other side. Nice to have you
with us again. You feeling all
right?
46.
COLTER
I think so. Who are you?
RUTLEDGE
The name's Rutledge.
COLTER
They wouldn't let me talk to you
before.
RUTLEDGE
No, I guess not. They're pretty
anal around here.
(lights his pipe)
Don't tell them you saw me smoking
in here, okay?
His genial eccentricity is completely at odds with the
military environment. And then it occurs to Colter:
COLTER
You're the inventor of this thing.
RUTLEDGE
(SHRUGS)
I prefer the term project designer.
And sorry for all the secrecy.
Goodwin will be thrilled you re-
established contact.
COLTER
I don't want to deal with Goodwin
anymore.
RUTLEDGE
What?
COLTER
Don't you understand? He's
torturing me. I'm helpless. Can't
you get me out of here?
Rutledge looks uneasy. As a scientist, he's ill-equipped to
deal with personnel issues.
RUTLEDGE
Why would Goodwin have it in for
you?
47.
COLTER
He's a remote operator. And remote
operators are risk averse pussies
who sit at control screens in the
rear while actual pilots like me
put their asses on the line in the
field.
RUTLEDGE
He seems pretty devoted to the
mission.
COLTER
And just what kind of mission is
this? Talk to me, man. Why won't
he let me save those people on the
train?
RUTLEDGE
Because they can't be saved.
COLTER
Why not? I know what's going to
happen. I could take apart the
bomb. Stop the train.
RUTLEDGE
Yeah but you'd be doing it in the
Source Code, not here. Not in our
own past.
Mystery upon mystery.
COLTER
What's the difference?
RUTLEDGE
I'm not sure I should be telling
you this.
COLTER
Telling me what?
Coaxing the scientist in him.
RUTLEDGE
It's quantum physics. Linear
algebra. Parabolic calculus. It
would take weeks to explain.
COLTER
Is Source Code time travel?
48.
Rutledge sighs. Looks at his pipe.
RUTLEDGE
It's gone out again.
COLTER
Why can't I save those people on
the train?
RUTLEDGE
Think of it like this: events in
our past can never be undone.
Einstein proved that.
COLTER
So...
RUTLEDGE
So Source Code opens up another
past for you. A parallel past. It
looks the same but it has no
intersection with our own world.
In essence, by sending you back, an
entirely new but utterly parallel
world is created. It looks
identical to ours, but nothing you
do there has any effect on this
reality.
At last some useful information. Colter races to process it.
COLTER
What happens to the Source Code
world after I leave it?
RUTLEDGE
I don't know. You can never know
that because you're not there to
observe it. Maybe it vanishes.
Maybe not.
(UNEASY)
I should tell them you're okay.
COLTER
What about the bicycle?
RUTLEDGE
What bicycle?
COLTER
I see it each time. Right after
the bomb goes off. Like an after
image.
(MORE)
49.
COLTER (CONT'D)
There's a bicycle and a stone wall
and a girl. It's a girl from the
train. I don't know where any of
it is supposed to be, but --
Rutledge removes the pipe from his mouth.
RUTLEDGE
Wait. You see all this after you
leave the train?
COLTER
Yeah. Just for a split second.
Rutledge is stunned. Like he's discovered some strange new
property to his invention.
RUTLEDGE
Please tell me you're not making
this up.
COLTER
No. It's there. What do you think
it means?
RUTLEDGE
I don't know.
Rutledge looks off camera for a moment.
RUTLEDGE
They're here. There's no more time
to talk.
(QUICKLY)
Make sure he sends you back in.
Find out about the after images.
Goodwin appears. Rutledge reluctantly takes off his headset.
COLTER
Rutledge, wait. Don't leave me.
Rutledge steps away. A pointed look at Colter. Goodwin
settles back into his seat, donning the headset.
GOODWIN
Welcome back. How are you feeling?
COLTER
I'm alive. No thanks to you.
GOODWIN
You find the bomber?
50.
COLTER
You're a brick wall, Goodwin. A
fucking brick wall.
GOODWIN
Lower your pulse. The situation
has worsened. The fire on the
tracks caused one of the freight
cars to blow up and release some
kind of gas. As a precaution
they're having to evacuate all of
lower Manhattan.
Evacuate lower Manhattan? The enormity of this. Having to
take it on faith.
GOODWIN
We may have lost the initiative.
COLTER
What do you mean? Let's keep
going.
GOODWIN
We were expecting more from you.
COLTER
I can give you more. Let me think
for a second.
But Goodwin ignores him. Absorbed in paperwork.
COLTER
The freight car blows up from the
fire. It spews gas, or what could
be gas -- it might be chlorine, so
they can't take any chances.
Anxious now. Trying to make up lost ground. Whatever it
takes to get sent back in.
COLTER
So they decide to play it safe and
evacuate parts of New York City.
And maybe that's part of the
terrorists' plan, right?
(THINKING)
So... so who benefits from that?
What's vulnerable? What's down
there in lower Manhattan?
(BEAT)
Wall Street.
51.
Surprising himself with this insight.
And now Goodwin is paying attention again. Waiting for more.
COLTER
Wall Street. That's what they're
going to hit next. The financial
markets.
Goodwin considers this. For the first time, slightly
impressed.
GOODWIN
I want to show you something.
CUT TO:
DRIVERS LICENSE PHOTOS
The video monitor shows CHRISTINA's DMV shot. Her wry,
secretive smile.
COLTER
Did she die, too?
GOODWIN
Yes. This drivers license photo
was found with her body. We're
creating a database of recovered
identifications as they come in
from the site.
A pang of sorrow. Moving among ghosts.
COLTER
You sure she's dead?
GOODWIN
Would you like to see her morgue
photos?
COLTER
(QUIETLY)
She was sitting across from me.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
We know.
CUT TO:
THE VIDEO MONITOR
52.
Playing a GRAINY, HAND-HELD VIDEO of the TRAIN WRECKAGE.
Rescue workers in protective gear picking their way carefully
through the twisted, charred remains of the two trains.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
This was taken shortly after the
rescue crews arrived on scene.
The TIME CODE on the image reads 8:26 a.m.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
We noted the location of each
corpse when we pulled it out.
On screen, rescue workers pull a CHARRED CORPSE out of the
wreckage.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Prepare yourself. This is unedited
footage.
COLTER
I told you I didn't want to see
her!
The camera ZOOMS IN on a corpse. Its burned face, like a
piece of rotted fruit, fills the screen. Nevertheless, we
recognize it. And it's not Christina. It's someone else.
COLTER
That's...
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Sean Fentress.
The man in the mirror. Himself, at least on the train.
COLTER
He died on the train.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
As a host identity, Sean Fentress
had to have certain basic
similarities to you. Gender.
Blood type. Approximate age. His
head was still intact. We need the
head, you see. To link the two of
you remotely.
They carry the corpse towards a MORGUE TRUCK with a vast
array of SATELLITE COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT attached to it.
53.
The image freezes, then DISSOLVES back to Christina's DMV
photo.
Silence. Pondering.
GOODWIN
Would you like to see the other
passenger photos? Perhaps that
would help you.
COLTER
You still have Christina's body?
The other things she was carrying?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Why?
COLTER
I want to know about her.
Everything I can. She's not just
another victim. She's connected to
all this.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
The rich smell of steaming coffee. The glint of a polished
leather shoe. The crisp click of someone uncapping a
fountain pen. The scenery rushing by -- the blur of trees,
the soft lavender of the morning sky. The swell and pull of
the mighty machine coursing over the rails.
If a train ride could ever be a sensory delight, this is it.
To Colter, every sensation has become even more pronounced,
more intensely real than ever.
CLOSE ON - HIS WATCH - A beep as he sets it to countdown
again from seventeen minutes. The duration of his freedom.
Across from him is Christina. Absorbed with her sketching.
COLTER
Thirty six dollars and eleven
cents.
She looks up at him.
COLTER
In your wallet. Right now. Thirty
six dollars and eleven cents.
CHRISTINA
Is this a magic trick or something?
54.
COLTER
Yes. In five seconds, a guy's
going to open a can of soda.
4... 3.. 2... 1...
CHK-THOCK!
The Overweight Man opens his soda can. She gives Colter a
quizzical look. He points out the window. They're passing a
neighborhood of modest homes.
COLTER
We're about to pass a street with
willow trees. Two girls will be
jumping rope. A white dog's going
to run out behind them. A
Dalmatian mix.
In a moment, they pass a scene exactly as Colter described.
Christina's befuddled smile.
CHRISTINA
You want to tell me how you're
doing this?
COLTER
Close observation. You could say
I'm a collector of moments.
CHRISTINA
A collector of moments?
COLTER
Yes.
CHRISTINA
That's the cheesiest line I've ever
heard.
She resumes her drawing.
COLTER
You trained to be an artist.
No response.
COLTER
You got A's in line drawing and oil
painting. But your work didn't
sell. You took a job answering
phones in a law firm.
(MORE)
55.
COLTER (CONT'D)
Six months ago you moved back in
with your parents. Two weeks ago
you put your paints away for good.
The sketch book is all you have
left.
CHRISTINA
Who the hell are you? Who have you
been talking to?
COLTER
You.
CHRISTINA
Me? No. I haven't ever talked to
you.
COLTER
But we have, Christina. You've
drawn all these people here. You
know their routines. At one point
you thought you were different from
all of them. But now you're not so
sure.
Christina has gone white. Utterly incredulous.
INT. TRAIN DINING CAR - MORNING
A small bar area. Coffee sloshing in styrofoam cups Colter
hands one to Christina and sits down opposite her. A glance
at his watch shows TWELVE MINUTES left.
CHRISTINA
Okay, you've got my attention. Now
tell me what this is all about.
COLTER
I need your help.
CHRISTINA
Are you selling something?
COLTER
Listen to me. I can't use up any
more time trying to convince you.
I just need you to believe
everything I'm about to tell you.
CHRISTINA
This better be good.
56.
COLTER
Bear with me.
(beat, where to begin?)
Your sketch book. Is there a
drawing of me in there?
CHRISTINA
I'm not sure.
COLTER
Please, Christina.
CHRISTINA
Yes, fine! Here.
She flips through it. Shows him a sketch of SEAN FENTRESS.
CHRISTINA
I did it last week.
COLTER
The thing is, that's not me.
CHRISTINA
Give me a little credit.
COLTER
No. You drew what you saw, but the
person you're seeing now is someone
else. I'm not Sean Fentress. I'm
not really on this train.
CHRISTINA
(INCOMPREHENSION)
You're not really on this train.
COLTER
I'm taking someone's place.
Borrowing it. My name is Colter.
I'm a soldier. And I'm being held
prisoner. And this is the only way
-- the only time and place I have --
to figure out how to escape.
She gives him a blank look.
CHRISTINA
After three months of riding the
train, this is how you introduce
yourself to me?
57.
COLTER
I'm serious. Elements in the
American military are using me for
an experiment. I'm not sure
exactly how it all happened, but
I'm at a facility on Nellis Air
Force Base in Nevada. Right now.
As we speak. It's a project called
Source Code.
CHRISTINA
Source Code.
COLTER
It's a program. It shifts
identities. It also performs small
amounts of time travel. Or "time
engineering." I don't know the
jargon.
He's not getting through to her. It's too bizarre.
COLTER
I've been put on this train to look
for someone. A criminal. And I
need to find out just enough about
him to keep them putting me back on
this train. Because right here's
only place I can figure out what's
really happening. But I have very
little time. And each time I come
back, you won't remember me and
I'll have to go through this all
over again.
CHRISTINA
You are, I think, deliciously mad.
COLTER
Then how do I know all those things
about you if we've never spoken
before?
She doesn't have an answer. Can't easily dismiss him.
CHRISTINA
Why tell all this to me? There's
lots of people around for you to
talk to.
COLTER
Because I think you have the answer
to this whole thing.
58.
CHRISTINA
Believe me, I don't have the answer
for anything.
COLTER
There's a vision. I keep having
it. It's very powerful. And
you're in it. And there's a
bicycle. And this... old stone
wall. And it's very peaceful.
Does this sound familiar? Like
where you live, maybe?
CHRISTINA
Stone walls? My parents live in a
house with aluminum siding and an
American eagle over the door. The
only bike is a Harley which the guy
down the street revs at three in
the morning.
COLTER
The vision must mean something.
It's the only time when I'm not on
the train or in the capsule. Why
else would Rutledge be so
interested?
CHRISTINA
Who's Rutledge?
COLTER
Someone who was trying to help me
understand something. Until they
got to him.
He lowers his head. A dead end. No answer. The train
begins to slow down.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
Colter looks at HIS WATCH. Ten minutes left.
CHRISTINA
I saw a program on TV. It was
about psychics. They say psychics
have a lot of paranoia.
COLTER
I don't believe in that shit.
59.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
Through the window, the Old Man, Derek and the College Kid
disembark. Guzman hurries past them to the station house.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
All aboard. Doors are closing.
CHRISTINA
Don't you have people you can go to
for help? Friends, family?
The train begins to move again.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
This is a New York bound train.
Next stop, New York - Penn Station.
COLTER
Most of my friends are in the
military. My dad runs a melon farm
in Alabama.
CHRISTINA
Maybe now's the time to reach out
to him.
She hands him her cell phone. Colter just holds it in his
hand.
COLTER
Me and my dad, we don't see eye to
eye. We're just two different
people.
CHRISTINA
As opposed to being the exact same
person?
COLTER
Are you always this sarcastic?
CHRISTINA
This is so not about me.
Colter reluctantly dials. As it rings --
COLTER
What day is it?
CHRISTINA
June 11th.
60.
COLTER
June?
One more thing to puzzle him.
The call connects. An OLDER MAN, DONALD STEVENS, answers.
The gravelly voice of a Midwestern farmer.
DONALD (V.O.)
Hello?
COLTER
Dad?
Donald doesn't respond.
COLTER
Dad, it's me. It's Colter.
Again, silence.
COLTER
Been a while, huh? I'd been
meaning to call you, but --
Click. The line goes dead. Colter looks at Christina.
COLTER
He wanted me to stay on and take
over the farm but... I had other
ideas.
CHRISTINA
You're intimidated by him.
COLTER
What?
CHRISTINA
You're scared of him. I can see
it.
COLTER
The hell I am.
Challenged, he redials. Braced for conflict. The call
connects.
COLTER
Dad, don't hang up. We're going to
talk. I need your help.
61.
DONALD
(CONTROLLED ANGER)
Now you listen to me. Whoever you
are, never call here again.
Donald hangs up.
CHRISTINA
He's still mad at you, huh?
COLTER
No... it was like he didn't even
know who I was.
Troubled, he hands back her phone. Outside, the EXPRESS
TRAIN flashes by.
CHRISTINA
I don't know how to help you.
She feels bad for him. And something inside Colter closes.
Retreating inside himself.
COLTER
Sorry to have bothered you.
He gets up to go. Christina stays where she is.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Back in his seat. Lost in the view out the window. The
neighborhoods have given way to Newark's industrial fringe.
Bringing him closer to the inevitable end.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
I have a friend.
Surprised, he turns to find her there.
CHRISTINA
She works at the New York Times.
Her name's Stephanie. She's just a
proofreader, but she wants to be
made a reporter. She's always
saying she needs a good story to
bring in so she gets noticed.
Something like this, with a crazy
paranoid angle could really
interest her.
COLTER
Forget it.
62.
CHRISTINA
She could do some poking around.
She's already quite suspicious of
the government.
Christina's dialing her phone. Colter turns back to the
window.
CHRISTINA
I'm getting voice mail.
(into the phone)
Steph, it's Christina. You know
that story you're always looking to
write? I might just have something
for you. I met a guy. His name is
Colter Stevens. He says he's in
the army. He flies helicopters in
Iraq, but now they've put him into
a secret project called Source
Code. Maybe you can look into it a
bit, okay? Call me.
She hangs up. Pleased with herself.
CHRISTINA
She'll call back. Just wait.
None of it will do Colter any good, but he manages a smile.
COLTER
Thank you, ma'am.
CHRISTINA
(LAUGHS)
Ma'am? How old do you think I am?
He gives her a wary look. Considers.
COLTER
Twenty five?
She smiles, pleased.
CHRISTINA
No, but thanks.
(BEAT)
What did you mean, there's a
criminal on the train? How do you
know that?
Colter looks away. Careful.
63.
COLTER
I just do.
CHRISTINA
How can I help you if you don't
tell me everything about this?
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
Colter enters the tiny space. Christina is reluctant to
follow him into the bathroom.
COLTER
You said you wanted to know.
CHRISTINA
Can't you just tell me?
He gives her an imploring look. She sighs and squeezes in
next to him.
CHRISTINA
Try anything and I'll kill you.
COLTER
Shut the door.
As she shuts the door, Colter gets up on the sink.
CHRISTINA
What are you doing?
He wrenches back the ventilation panel, then steps aside.
COLTER
It's up here.
He holds out his hand. She grabs hold and steps up on the
sink. She's not quite tall enough to see into the
crawlspace, so he steps up behind her and lifts her the rest
of the way.
CHRISTINA
(startled, feels his hands
ON HER)
What are you --
COLTER
Just look.
Her blouse brushes his face as he holds her up. A long beat
as she looks inside the overhead space at the bomb.
64.
CHRISTINA
Is that...?
COLTER
Acetone Peroxide. It's a liquid
explosive. There's fourteen
cannisters of it. Simple
detonator. Cell phone signal
closes the circuit and boom.
He lowers her. An incredulous beat.
CHRISTINA
Did you put this here?
COLTER
No. It was someone else. They
don't know who. That's why I'm
here. To find out.
Watching her. Will she believe him?
CHRISTINA
We have to tell someone. We have
to stop this.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
The bathroom door opens and Christina walks quickly away.
Mounting fear. Colter falls into step behind her.
COLTER
It won't matter. The train's
already...
CHRISTINA
Already what?
COLTER
I've been sent here. It sounds
crazy, but it's true. I've been
sent from the future -- from five
hours in the future. This train's
already been blown up.
She backs up. Scared of him. Every right to be.
COLTER
You wanted to know. Now you know.
She turns and hurries for the exit doors.
65.
CHRISTINA
This isn't happening. I've got to
get off.
Colter catches up with her inside the exit vestibule. She's
stabbing at the door release button.
CHRISTINA
Why won't it open?!
Her phone is RINGS. They both stop. She looks at the
number.
CHRISTINA
It's Steph.
(HOLLOW)
I told you she'd be interested.
(ANSWERS)
Hi.
Her eyes are fixed suspiciously on Colter as she listens.
Colter looks outside. Recognizes the terrain. Looks down at
HIS WATCH --
50 SECONDS.
It's awful. Unbearable. He dashes towards the bathroom --
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
Tears open the door. Jumps up on the sink.
THE BOMB
Sits in the semi-darkness, faintly illuminated by the
bathroom's fluorescent light. As he grabs hold of the bomb,
he hears --
CHRISTINA (O.S.)
Colter...?
Working fast, he unhooks the leads on the detonator, rips
away gaffing tape -- jostling the cannisters of explosives --
CHRISTINA (O.S.)
Colter, I have to tell you
something.
-- and pulls off the detonator cell phone. Ducking back
down, he see Christina standing in the doorway.
66.
COLTER
Look. Now the fucking thing can't
go off.
HIS WATCH
Reads 20 SECONDS.
CHRISTINA
Stephanie did a computer search.
Something in her expression worries him.
CHRISTINA
She's got a database of all
newspaper articles going back to
forever.
COLTER
Source Code's classified. It
wouldn't be in a newspaper.
CHRISTINA
No. But you were. She found you.
COLTER
She found me? What does that mean?
She stops. Not wanting to go on.
From outside comes the HORN from the approaching freight
train.
COLTER
Jesus Christ, Christina, are you
going to spit it out?
In his hand, the CELL PHONE RINGS. Colter's eyes light up in
amazement -- the DISPLAY SCREEN is showing the name and
number of the bomber. But before he can read what's there,
Christina's voice finds its way to the back of his brain:
CHRISTINA
According to the notice, you were
killed in action two months ago.
The world stops.
A SEARING PAIN SLAMS INTO him. He drops the phone and
doubles over. She runs to him --
COLTER'S POV
67.
Everything around him PIXELATES into a hundred thousand
POINTS on an array. Christina's cries become bursts of
static. Flying behind the array come LINES OF COMPUTER CODE -
- the Source Code architecture laid bare.
And then the screen itself seems to melt, giving way to a
frightening series of HALLUCINATORY FRAGMENTS:
INT. HELICOPTER - DAY
A PILOT'S P.O.V. -- desert sand, searingly bright -- flight
deck instrumentation -- a windshield pockmarked with bullet
holes -- the horizon tilting as the helicopter PLUNGES
towards earth amid a chaos of RADIO TRANSMISSIONS:
"...taking a lot of RPG fire... be advised A61 is going
down... A61 is going down hard..."
EXT. DESERT - DAY
Black smoke. Boots crunching on sand as we are borne,
P.O.V., a victim on a jostling stretcher.
INT. MEDIVAC HELICOPTER - DAY
Airborne again. The thud of rotors. Through blurred vision
we see medics working furiously to save a life.
INT. C5 TRANSPORT JET - DAY
The smooth, glassy calm of 30,000 feet. The regular
pulsations of a VENTILATOR. Fluids drip down through an IV
bag. Tubes and monitors stacked all around us. Gurneys of
other wounded packed together. The grumble of another,
unseen wounded soldier:
SOLDIER (O.S.)
Never any damn leg room on a plane.
An ALARM begins beeping.
FLIGHT MEDIC (O.S.)
Hey, this guy's crashing...
FADE TO BLACK.
Silence and darkness. Nothingness.
68.
Then, a PLAYING CARD appears, as if through a slide
projector. The Jack of Clubs.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain...?
The playing card flickers, separates into pixels, then
dissolves.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain, allow me to introduce
myself. My name is Goodwin.
You're with Beleaguered Castle.
You are safe. All your needs will
be met here.
Lines of computer code flit across the screen. A blinking
cursor.
FADE TO BLACK.
A tiny APERTURE opens... revealing CHRISTINA. And the
bicycle. And the stone wall. The strange, recurring vision.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain?
The sound drives away the image, replacing it with
THE JACK OF CLUBS
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain, just tell me what you see.
Just look and speak.
Groggy breathing. A ragged voice:
COLTER (V.O.)
I see a card.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Very good. Very, very good.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
On Colter's face. A deep, cold knot in his stomach.
Shuddering in fear. The truth before him now. Crouching
there, a nightmare, ruling over him.
On the MONITOR, Goodwin looks into the camera. Assessing the
situation.
69.
GOODWIN
Are you comfortable? Are you warm?
Colter clings to his harness as if to keep from vanishing
entirely from existence.
GOODWIN
Do you need to urinate?
Colter swallows. Too terrorized to speak.
GOODWIN
Beleaguered Castle is waiting for
your report.
Goodwin taps his pen on his clipboard. Impatient. He flips
a switch. A blocky COMPUTER VOICE, something out of the
1970s, comes on:
COMPUTER VOICE (V.O.)
Hearing Test. First sequence.
Left ear.
A short SERIES of ELECTRONIC TONES.
COMPUTER VOICE (V.O.)
Hearing Test. First sequence.
Right ear.
The tones cease. Colter remains impassive and inert.
GOODWIN
Captain, I know you can hear me.
Did you find the bomber?
Goodwin keys in some commands. Forever adjusting.
COMPUTER VOICE (V.O.)
Memory Thread One: "When Lily woke,
she had the bed to herself. She
sat up, bewildered by the
strangeness of her surroundings;
then memory returned, and she
looked about her with a shiver."
Goodwin stops the audio.
GOODWIN
As you're collecting your thoughts,
I should tell you there's been
another development. A terrorist
group has taken responsibility for
bombing the train.
(MORE)
70.
GOODWIN (CONT'D)
This began broadcasting over the
Internet a half hour. We've traced
it to central Asia.
ON THE MONITOR
A grainy VIDEO shows an arid, wind-swept plateau of a far-
away desert. It is twilight. A MUJAHIDEEN FIGHTER, his face
hidden by a hooded cloak, sits cross legged before a
flickering camp fire and a tea service.
The fighter rises, picks up a rocket-propelled grenade
launcher, and approaches the camera. The wind whips his
black robes. The figure looks slight. Almost spectral. It
begins speaking to the camera.
MUJAHIDEEN FIGHTER
(on camera, in accented
ENGLISH)
By now you have suffered a taste of
divine vengeance. God willing, you
will soon suffer another.
Colter does not raise his head. No idea whether he's even
listening.
MUJAHIDEEN FIGHTER
These attacks will show you that
you will never be safe. You can
secure your borders. But what can
you do against one of your own
citizens? One who looks like you,
who is blameless, living already
among you, who takes eighty million
of our dollars, a trifle, and
carries out our bidding? You
cannot stop this. Time has run
out.
The image freezes. Then switches back to the live feed of
Goodwin.
COLTER
Let me talk to Rutledge.
GOODWIN
So you've decided to speak.
COLTER
Rutledge. Get him.
71.
GOODWIN
We appreciate your desire for
further discussion. Perhaps at a
later date.
COLTER
Will you let me out of here?
Goodwin ignore the question. Continues making notations.
GOODWIN
Frankly, Captain, we're
disappointed.
COLTER
Find Rutledge! Now!
GOODWIN
I have to say that we expected more
from you.
COLTER
Stop! Stop reading from your
goddamn script!
GOODWIN
Perhaps we overestimated your
abilities.
COLTER
I swear to fucking Christ!
GOODWIN
Please accept the criticism in the
spirit it was given. Perhaps a few
memory exercises would help.
COLTER
I don't need your criticism and I
don't need your memory exercises,
you gutless freak. And by the way,
that bomb is detonated by a cell
phone. When activated, the phone's
display screen displays caller ID
information. Caller ID. I wonder
if that information would be useful
to Beleaguered Castle.
For a split second, Goodwin looks thrown. But the mask of
the cold clinician goes back up.
72.
GOODWIN
Very well. We're ready for that
information.
COLTER
You'll have to send me back. I
didn't get a good look at it. But
I will next time.
Goodwin hesitates. Skeptical.
GOODWIN
What assurance do we have you'll be
able to read the screen before the
device detonates?
COLTER
Goodwin, there's no time left.
Send... me... back.
Goodwin's pale, inscrutable face fills the monitor. His eyes
are unblinking. Unfeeling. Nothing behind them.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter prowls the aisle feverishly. He scans the overhead
luggage rack. Peeks inside a bag. Doesn't see what he
wants. He looks all around... up the rows of passengers...
intently scanning...
There. The Computer Engineer. He's asleep. But clutched in
his hand is what Colter wants -- a CELL PHONE.
CLOSE ON - THE COMPUTER ENGINEER - MOMENTS LATER
The train jolts slightly, waking him up. Looking down, the
Computer Engineer notices that his cell phone has vanished.
Across the aisle, a LATINA OFFICE MANAGER taps him on the
arm. She gestures down the aisle to
COLTER
Who's walking off with the guy's cell phone. Behind him, the
Computer Engineer gets up.
COMPUTER ENGINEER
Hey, do you have my phone?
People turn to look. Among them is Christina. Colter just
starts walking faster.
73.
COMPUTER ENGINEER
(UPSET)
Dude, give me back my phone!
INT. SECOND CAR - MORNING
The Computer Engineer hurries in. Colter is nowhere in
sight. He RUNS down the aisle and towards the next car.
PAN OVER to the DOOR of the CONDUCTOR'S COMPARTMENT as it
CLICKS SHUT.
INT. TRAIN CONDUCTOR'S COMPARTMENT - MORNING
Breathless, Colter has just finished shutting the door and is
about to use the cell phone when sees
THE CONDUCTOR and a TRAIN OFFICIAL
Looking over at him in surprise.
COLTER
Sorry. Wrong turn.
Reversing gears, Colter backs out of the compartment.
INT. SECOND CAR - MORNING
Just as the befuddled Computer Engineer disappears into the
third car, Colter steps back into the aisle and walks the
other way.
INT. FIRST CAR - MORNING
Sweating a bit now, Colter is keying in a number on the cell
phone as he walks.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Operator. City and listing.
COLTER
Las Vegas, Nevada. Nellis Air
Force Base.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Connecting you.
A tingle up his spine. The call connects.
74.
POST OPERATOR (V.O.)
Post Operator.
COLTER
Is this... Nellis Air Force Base?
POST OPERATOR (V.O.)
Yes, sir. How may I direct your
call?
He takes a deep breath.
COLTER
I'm trying to reach... Captain
Colter Stevens.
Calling himself. Strange. No idea where this is going.
POST OPERATOR (V.O.)
I have no listing for a Captain
Colter Stevens.
COLTER
Then give me the Combined Air and
Space Ops Center.
POST OPERATOR (V.O.)
One moment, sir.
The call seems to take forever to connect. Then a terse
military VOICE comes on the phone.
VOICE (V.O.)
C Deck.
COLTER
Who is this?
VOICE (V.O.)
C Deck.
COLTER
I'm calling for Rutledge. It's
urgent.
VOICE (V.O.)
You have the wrong number.
COLTER
This is Captain Colter Stevens.
An eerie pause.
75.
VOICE (V.O.)
Would you repeat that?
COLTER
Colter Stevens. Captain Colter
Stevens.
VOICE (V.O.)
Hold the line.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
The train slows at it pulls into Newark Station.
Another voice comes over the phone.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Captain? This is Goodwin.
Colter's heart sinks.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Where are you, Captain?
COLTER
Let me talk to Rutledge.
GOODWIN
Where are you? How did you find
us?
COLTER
I'm on the train.
The train pulls to a stop.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
What train?
COLTER
(REALIZES)
You don't know. It hasn't happened
yet.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
What hasn't happened?
76.
COLTER
The explosion.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
What explosion?
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
All aboard. Doors are closing.
COLTER
Don't you understand? I'm in it,
Goodwin. I'm calling you from
inside the mission. Inside the
Source Code.
A beat of stunned silence. The train begins moving.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Next stop New York Penn Station.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
This contact is ill-advised. I
must ask you to hang up.
COLTER
Goodwin, I'm trapped in this and I
can't get out.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
You have no authorization to be
making this call. Goodbye.
COLTER
No! Wait! Don't hang up! Forget
authorization. There's no time.
Soon you're going to find out what
happened on this train. And then
your own day is going to start.
But not until then. Right now it's
just you and me talking. And
you're a different Goodwin than the
one I'm going to go back to in a
few minutes. You're separate from
him. Separate worlds. Do you
understand?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
I think so.
COLTER
Good. Now there's a lot of secrecy
in all of this, and you have your
reasons for that.
(MORE)
77.
COLTER (CONT'D)
But here and now, just this once, I
need to ask you something. And you
need to tell me the truth.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
I'd rather you not ask me anything,
Captain.
COLTER
I'm going to ask it.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
I should terminate this call.
COLTER
Jesus, Goodwin, how can I get
through to you? You're not just a
soldier. Somewhere inside you're a
human being, too. Somewhere inside
you've got to know that this is
wrong. Source Code is wrong. And
if you can't grasp that, if you
just follow orders, then you're
just as much a prisoner as I am.
The car SHUDDERS as the EXPRESS TRAIN FLASHES BY. Quiet
returns as it recedes.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
What's your question?
Surprised, Colter raises his head. Draws a breath.
COLTER
Did I survive that helicopter crash
in Iraq?
Silence. Colter shuts his eyes.
COLTER
Answer me. Did I survive that
crash?
Another pause. This is crushing Colter.
COLTER
Goodwin.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Not physically.
COLTER
What?
78.
GOODWIN
You did not physically survive the
crash.
A terrible chill comes over Colter. He swallows. Trying to
stay brave.
COLTER
Not physically? Fuck. At least
give me an answer I can understand.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
We've kept alive certain areas of
your brain.
COLTER
But... the capsule I'm in...
GOODWIN (V.O.)
A manifestation. Your way of
making sense of it.
This is crushing. Colter fights back terror.
COLTER
You had no right.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
As a soldier...
COLTER
I was a soldier. Then. But now?
(WHISPERS)
After death?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
It was the only way. You couldn't
have a body and be sent back into
the Source Code.
(BEAT)
What is the status of your mission?
Is it a success?
COLTER
You really want to know?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
I suppose not. You're right to
keep it from me.
COLTER
That's what we do. Keep stuff from
each other. Will this ever end?
79.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
End?
COLTER
How can I get out of this?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
You must realizes the army's made
an investment in you. You'll be
used again.
COLTER
How?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Imagine a turntable. With a record
spinning on it. All we do is lift
up the needle. The music stops.
COLTER
And then what?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Then we wait. Until another
mission. And the needle comes down
again. You won't remember any of
this. We'll start with the playing
cards. Electronic tones. Simple
memory exercises. Bit by bit,
we'll revive your cerebral
capacities once more.
The barbarism of it. Digital slavery.
COLTER
How many times have I done this?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Does it matter?
COLTER
No one knows I'm here. No one can
help me.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
In stimulating your cortex, they're
prolonging your life. Many
soldiers would find that preferable
to death.
COLTER
You can't do this. I served my
country. I already gave my life.
80.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
The courts.
COLTER
What?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
The courts know you're here.
COLTER
Military court or civilian court?
GOODWIN (V.O.)
Military.
Colter finds no comfort in this.
GOODWIN (V.O.)
I'm sorry you found out about all
of this. That wasn't our
intention.
COLTER
Does that make it any less wrong?
No answer. Colter looks down at his watch. Time is running
out. And there's absolutely nothing he can do.
DISSOLVE TO:
COLTER'S FACE
Ashen. Almost lifeless. Around him is the darkened steel
cocoon of the
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
Its appearance has altered slightly, given Colter's new
awareness of what this really is. The capsule is even more
claustrophobic. There are fewer controls. Even less light.
A shadow world.
The monitor is blank. He shouts from the void --
COLTER
Goodwin?!
Rutledge appears. Drops into the seat and puts on the
headset. Fiddles with his pipe as a way to avoid looking at
the camera.
81.
RUTLEDGE
How's it going? Any breakthroughs?
COLTER
I finally get it, Rutledge. You're
the good guy, Goodwin's the bad
guy. Working together, you get
what you want out of me. Why
didn't I see it before?
RUTLEDGE
Believe me, Captain, I'm on your
side.
COLTER
Drop it. I know about the
helicopter crash. I know what
they've done with me.
RUTLEDGE
(STRUGGLING)
Look, it's been a long day. For
all of us. But now we've got to
bring this home and catch a killer.
COLTER
What's in it for me?
RUTLEDGE
Come on. These guys are serious.
Help me out. My ass is on the
line, too, you know.
COLTER
You can do better than that. They
sent you here to offer me a deal.
RUTLEDGE
If you think I'm enjoying this,
you're wrong.
COLTER
What's their offer? What can they
possibly threaten me with after so
colossally fucking me? Spit it
out, you spineless turd.
Rutledge's face goes red. Quite possibly no one has ever
spoken to him like this before. After a sputtering pause,
Rutledge's mouth hardens.
82.
RUTLEDGE
The government can decide to take
an interest in people. People like
your father with his struggling
farm. It can discover things like
unpaid property taxes. It can call
in his equipment loans or tie him
down for years in environmental
litigation. On the other hand, it
can pay him handsomely for mineral
deposits he never knew were there.
As distant and problematic as your
relationship was, surely you'd like
the chance to do something for him.
A beat of silent outrage from Colter.
COLTER
Those after images I saw. You
never knew about them. They
weren't part of Source Code
architecture, were they?
RUTLEDGE
(HASTILY)
They're meaningless. Nerves
firing. Brain chemistry.
COLTER
You don't believe that. I've been
to places you haven't. I've
crossed and recrossed that line
between living and dying. And when
I do, that veil gets lifted for
just a second. And what's there is
real. Maybe it's a vision of the
next world, but I can see it.
RUTLEDGE
You can see it. But you can never
get there without our help.
COLTER
Get there? What do you mean?
RUTLEDGE
Our offer. Maybe we can get you
there. In return for your
completing the mission.
(BEAT)
They'll let you die. I'll shut off
your life support and you'll simply
slip away.
(MORE)
83.
RUTLEDGE (CONT'D)
Just like the good Lord intended
you to do a few months back.
A fearful beat. Negotiating over his own soul.
COLTER
You'd never do it. You wouldn't
have to. You could just flip the
switch and start me back up again
unaware. For all I know, you've
made this deal with me before.
RUTLEDGE
Actually, we haven't. Your
operational awareness has become
too great. If you found out the
truth about yourself once, you
might do so again. As for Source
Code, I'm sure we can find other
servicemen coming back from
overseas with wounds just like
yours.
(PATRONIZING)
Do you have the courage to serve
your country one final time?
Colter's eyes bore into Rutledge.
COLTER
I'm going to find you, Rutledge.
Someday. Somewhere.
RUTLEDGE
(retreating from the
CONFRONTATION)
The display screen on the detonator
was a useful and exciting insight
you made. This time, make it pay
off. Get the information on the
screen. But let the bomb explode.
We need the force of the explosion
to help integrate you quickly back
into the present.
The Source Code machinery is already beginning to HUM.
Rutledge excitedly keying in system commands.
COLTER
You hear me? Somehow, I'm going to
find you.
RUTLEDGE
I doubt that.
84.
There's barely time for Colter to grab onto the harness
restraints before the machinery goes into a deafening HOWL.
THUNK.
Colter's body convulses and goes limp. Unconscious, he sags
in his seat, held in by the harness. Everything SWITCHES OFF
AND GOES DARK.
A split second later, the capsule comes back to life again.
As if the plug were simply put back in.
RUTLEDGE
Captain?
Colter JOLTS AWAKE. Disoriented. Thrashing to get free.
RUTLEDGE
It's okay. Calm yourself. You're
back.
Colter exhales. Shuddering. He's just completed another
Source Code.
RUTLEDGE
What happened?
The tentacles of the nightmare slowly releasing. Replaced by
the oppression of being back in the capsule. Back in
Rutledge's power.
RUTLEDGE
Was the bomber's identity on the
cell phone?
COLTER
I think so. But there wasn't time
to read the screen. As soon as it
rang the bomb went off.
RUTLEDGE
(IMPATIENT)
What about the phone itself? Make,
model, product identification
number.
COLTER
I was unable examine the phone
without separating it from the
detonator -- which I was instructed
not to do.
His delivery is different now. Impersonal. Distant.
85.
RUTLEDGE
Did you make any other progress?
What in heck's name did you do for
those seventeen minutes?
Colter does not answer.
The machinery again STARTS UP. Colter tenses, bewildered.
Eyes dart accusingly to the screen.
COLTER
Wait. What are you --
THUNK.
Again, he convulses and goes limp.
Click. Darkness. Everything POWERS DOWN...
... And BACK UP again -- controls, monitor, machinery.
Colter GROANS and opens his eyes. Gripped by another terror.
Returning from yet another trip on the train. Another bomb
blast. Death and resurrection. Rutledge looks in on him
with impatience.
RUTLEDGE
We can do this all day. Until you
get it right.
COLTER
Please... I don't feel good...
RUTLEDGE
I don't doubt it. Who's the
bomber?
COLTER
I don't know... I honestly... I
can't keep...
The HUMMING again. He's helpless. An insect on a pin.
Colter tears at his restraints, ready to bash his brains out
against the controls. He SCREAMS...
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
... and, in sudden freedom, surges up out of his seat with a
cry. Around him startled passengers look over in confusion.
CHRISTINA
Hey!
86.
Colter, back in his navy jacket, slacks and shirt, has
pitched forward into Christina.
CHRISTINA
You want to get off me?
The Overweight Man, wide eyed in surprise, has his finger
poised to open his can of soda.
COLTER
Go ahead! Open your fucking soda!
CHK-THOCK! The Overweight Man complies. Some half-muttered
reproaches, then most people go back to what they were doing.
CHRISTINA
What's wrong with you, anyway?
She glares at him at he stands up. He can't respond.
Despair surges through him. He stumbles off down the aisle.
But where can he go? There is no freedom. No escape.
Imprisoned in both worlds.
From her seat, Christina watches him go. Sensing the torment
in him.
EXIT AREA
Colter is slumped in a corner. Christina appears. Taps him
on the shoulder.
CHRISTINA
You okay?
He eyes her furtively. Like a cave man who's never seen
another human being before.
CHRISTINA
You're not okay.
He's ghastly pale. He's sweating profusely.
COLTER
Ma'am, please... return to your
seat.
Footsteps. The sound of jangling KEYS.
CONDUCTOR
Ticket.
87.
The conductor takes up position in front of him. As
implacable as Rutledge, in his way.
CONDUCTOR
Ticket, please.
CHRISTINA
He's not feeling well.
CONDUCTOR
He still needs a ticket.
Colter makes no move to respond. No more concern for
anything.
CONDUCTOR
Have it your way, pal.
He takes out his book to write Colter up.
CHRISTINA
Wait. I'll pay it.
CONDUCTOR
I have no idea where he got on.
Full fare's $22.50.
CHRISTINA
All right, all right.
Getting out her wallet, she pays the conductor. He eyes her
with disapproval, then shambles off.
CHRISTINA
I see customer service is alive and
well on New Jersey Transit.
COLTER
Why did you just do that?
CHRISTINA
The ticket? I don't know. You
looked a little lost.
The gratitude in his look makes her self conscious. She
turns to go.
COLTER
Will you do me a favor?
CHRISTINA
What's that?
88.
COLTER
Get off the train.
CHRISTINA
What?
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
COLTER
Please. Just get off the train.
Her puzzled look. The train begins to SLOW DOWN.
CHRISTINA
This isn't my stop.
COLTER
You shouldn't have been on this
train, Christina. You should be
living another life. Not spending
it answering phones for lawyers.
CHRISTINA
How do you...?
A group of passengers approaches the exit area. We've seen
them all before: Derek, the Old Man, the College Kid. And
the small encounters: shuffling around, positioning at the
doors, and the College Kid tapping Derek on the arm, holding
out Derek's wallet.
COLLEGE STUDENT
Hey, you dropped this.
DEREK
(relieved, takes it back)
Wow. Thanks.
The train stops. The doors OPEN.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
Derek, the Old Man and the College Kid get off. A second
later, Guzman bursts past them, making his nauseated run for
the station.
Leaving just Colter and Christina there. The doors stand
open, invitingly.
89.
COLTER
Everyone has a destiny. And this
isn't yours.
He steps out onto the platform. Holds out his hand for her
to join him. A coaxing look.
She's incredulous. This guy. His words. This whole moment.
CHRISTINA
Who in the world are you?
COLTER
Just do it. Stop being afraid.
Believe in yourself.
He waits for her. Only two steps away.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
All aboard. Doors are closing.
She blinks. The spell breaks. Those two steps prove to be
two much.
CHRISTINA
Leave me alone.
She retreats back into the car. Colter is heartbroken.
About to pursue her, he happens to look over and see
DEREK
Instead of going directly to the station house, Derek
continues walking down the platform alongside the train, as
if intending to reboard further down.
And then it happens.
With a quick motion Derek TOSSES SOMETHING through an open
door of another car, then heads quickly away towards the
station house.
With no time to think, Colter slips back on board just as the
doors slide shut.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
The train begins moving. Christina is nowhere in sight.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
This is a New York bound train.
Next stop New York - Penn Station.
90.
Intrigued, Colter leaves the exit door area...
INT. SECOND CAR - MORNING
... Strides down the aisle of the second car... and reaches
the next set of
EXIT DOORS
There's nothing there. Whatever Derek tossed inside is gone.
Did someone pick it up? Colter looks up the aisle and then
the other way into the next car. No one there.
Once more he examines the exit area. Gets down on his knees.
Then he spots it -- an OPENING between the floor and one of
the wall panels, only a few inches high.
And there something lies. Colter slides it out.
Derek's WALLET. Intentionally left here. The same wallet
the College Kid gave back to Derek earlier.
Opening it, Colter pulls out Derek's DRIVER'S LICENSE.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
The Source Code has finished. The monitor shows just the
empty chair. Finally Rutledge returns to his seat.
RUTLEDGE
They've searched the wreckage and
found the wallet. It was under the
wall panel. Just as you said.
An awkward dynamic between them. They despise each other but
have to work together.
COLTER
Believe me, he's our guy. He
tossed his own wallet back on the
train. Only reason he'd do that...
RUTLEDGE
(finishing his thought)
...is if he wanted us to think he
died in the explosion. I know.
(BEAT)
We looked into his profile.
(MORE)
91.
RUTLEDGE (CONT'D)
Derek Frost is a commodities
trader, with a wife, two children
and a promotion one month old.
He's an emergency preparedness
volunteer on his office floor, for
God's sake.
COLTER
You saw that terrorist video --
they said it was one of us. One of
our own.
RUTLEDGE
If he's really the one, you can
find out the rest of his plan.
COLTER
How?
RUTLEDGE
By any means necessary. There is
no Geneva Convention in the Source
Code.
COLTER
Torture him, you mean.
RUTLEDGE
(SHRUGS)
Find out the plan, before it
happens here. And then I'll let
you die.
Their grisly bargain.
RUTLEDGE
In the conductor's compartment
there's a fully loaded 9 millimeter
handgun locked in a safe. Think
you can remember the combination?
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Christina is absorbed in her sketch book. Across from her,
Colter watches. A stranger to her again. It hurts too much.
She feels his eyes on her. When she looks up, he's gone.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
As Guzman exits the bathroom, he almost crashes into Colter,
who's waiting right there.
92.
GUZMAN
Excuse me.
COLTER
Assalam'alaikoom.
Squeezing past, Guzman does a double take to hear the
standard Arabic reply.
INT. TRAIN BATHROOM - MORNING
Reaching into the overhead crawl space, Colter once again
unhooks the cell phone detonator from the bomb.
Sitting down on the toilet seat, he dials 4-1-1 on the cell
phone.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
What listing?
COLTER
The New York Times.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Christina's CELL PHONE RINGS. She gets it out.
CHRISTINA
Hello?
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
Christina? It's Stephanie. Where
are you right now?
CHRISTINA
Going to work. Why?
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
The strangest thing. The phone
rang at my desk and some guy I
don't know said the train you're on
isn't safe and that you should get
off at the next stop. Then he hung
up.
CHRISTINA
What?
The train begins to SLOW DOWN.
93.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
CHRISTINA
I don't understand.
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
Maybe you should get off. Are you
okay?
The station platform slides into view.
CHRISTINA
I'm fine. Everything's normal. Is
there something on the news? Some
kind of alert?
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
Nothing that I've heard.
EXT. NEWARK PLATFORM - MORNING
The train pulls to a stop. Passengers begin to get off.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Christina is out of her seat, debating.
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
I think you should get off.
CHRISTINA
I'll be late for work.
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
The hell with work, Christina! You
hate that job anyway.
CHRISTINA
It's probably a joke. A weirdo guy
from somewhere.
She sees Colter down in the exit area. They lock eyes.
And somehow she knows. He made the call. Colter quickly
disappears into the other car.
94.
INT. SECOND CAR - MORNING
The doors stand open to the platform. Just then Derek's
WALLET goes skidding back on board, disappearing under the
wall panel. A second later, Colter reaches the exit area.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
All aboard. Doors are closing.
EXT. NEWARK PLATFORM - MORNING
The train doors shut. Colter is now out on the platform.
Christina is not there. Concerned, walking quickly forward,
Colter looks through the windows...
And finds her staring back at him. Still on the train. A
strange moment between the two of them.
Once again he's failed to save her.
They watch each other for as long as possible, until the
train pulls away.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
As the train SPEEDS UP, Christina sits down again, lowering
her phone.
STEPHANIE (V.O.)
Did you get off...?
CHRISTINA
No. I'll call you back.
She hangs up. Disturbed. As if she's failed some test.
But what test? Why this weird feeling?
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
This is a New York bound train.
Next stop New York - Penn Station.
The train SPEEDS UP. Anxiety creeps into her face. Looking
around, the tranquility of the passengers begins to seem
ominous, hinting that she's made the wrong choice.
95.
INT. TRAIN CONDUCTOR'S COMPARTMENT - MORNING
The conductor enters. About to pour himself a cup of coffee
WHEN --
CONDUCTOR
Huh?
The metal door to THE SAFE has been OPENED.
INT. NEWARK STATION - MORNING
Inside the quiet lobby, Derek is heading for the outer doors
to the parking lot, when:
COLTER (O.S.)
Derek Frost.
Colter is walking towards him, holding up Derek's WALLET.
COLTER
You forget something?
DEREK
Gosh. Is that my wallet?
As he goes to take it, Colter GRABS HIM.
INT. NEWARK STATION - MEN'S ROOM - MORNING
Behind the closed door at the end stall comes the sound of
GUZMAN VOMITING.
BANG - The men's room DOOR flies open -- Colter DRAGS Derek
inside.
DEREK
What the hell, man? What the
hell???
COLTER
You see this?
Colter pulls out the DETONATOR CELL PHONE -- the one he took
off the bomb. Holds it inches from Derek's face.
COLTER
Now you can't blow it up.
96.
DEREK
What is this? Get away from me!
The BARREL of a 9 MM PISTOL. Aimed right at him.
COLTER
Believe me, I'm very accurate with
one of these things.
DEREK
Jesus.
Derek raises his hands. Sweating. All fright. Like a
decent man, terrorized.
It gives Colter pause. Does he have the right guy?
A toilet FLUSHES. The last stall door opens and Guzman
emerges. Stops cold as Colter swings the pistol at him.
COLTER
Stay there, my man.
DEREK
Don't hurt me.
COLTER
Stop acting, for Chrissakes.
DEREK
Keep my wallet. Take my watch.
Take anything you want.
Unprompted, Guzman takes out his own wallet and sets it on
the counter. Calmer than Derek. Accustomed to trouble.
GUZMAN
There. Now you have two wallets.
Take them and go.
COLTER
Shut up!
Tensing. This isn't supposed to happen like this.
DEREK
Please. I have a family.
COLTER
What about those other passengers?
Don't you think they had families?
97.
GUZMAN
Just what is this about?
COLTER
This man's a terrorist. He planted
a bomb on the train.
DEREK
(HALF LAUGHS)
What?
Click. Colter pulls back the hammer and savagely JAMS the
barrel of the pistol into Derek's cheek.
COLTER
What's the next attack? Who else
are you going to kill today, huh?
DEREK
(IN TEARS)
Oh God... Oh God...
Guzman takes a step towards Colter.
COLTER
One more step, asshole.
GUZMAN
Don't treat him like this. He's
not an animal. Neither are you.
DEREK
Listen to him. For God's sake I'm
not a terrorist...!
A URINE STAIN spreads on Derek's pants. He looks down,
ashamed. Colter keeps the gun on him.
COLTER
Piss all you want. You took eighty
million dollars to kill hundreds of
people today.
DEREK
Eighty million dollars? I swear to
you...
COLTER
Then what about the wallet, huh?
Why the fuck did you twice try to
leave your wallet on board?
98.
DEREK
I... I...
COLTER
Time's up! What is it?! What is
the next attack! So help me, I'll
put this bullet through your brain.
DEREK
I don't know what you're talking
about!
COLTER
I'm going to do it.
Tightening his finger around the trigger. Tears are
streaming down Derek's face. But he's not going to talk.
DEREK
I would never hurt anyone. I have
a family. I guess you'll have to
kill me.
But Colter can't. He can't shoot him. He lowers the gun.
Disgusted with himself. Why can't he do it?
GUZMAN
You see? You are a human being.
Speaking gently. Trying to calm him. Even as Colter feels
like he's failed.
GUZMAN
This can be worked out. We can
listen to each other.
The temperature cooling. Derek's nodding with him.
DEREK
Anything you want... Please...
The detonator CELL PHONE RINGS, startling all of them.
Confused, he answers the phone.
COLTER
Hello.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
Who is this?
COLTER
(STUNNED)
Christina?
99.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
Are you the guy who was sitting
across me on the train?
Colter looks at his watch. The countdown passes THREE
MINUTES. 2:59... 2:58...
COLTER
How can you be calling this number?
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
My friend had it. From when you
called her -- to try and get me off
the train. Who are you? What do
you want?
Derek and Guzman cautiously lower their hands. Watching in
confusion.
COLTER
I was trying to warn you.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
About what?
COLTER
I'm not sure that it matters now.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
Talk to me. I feel that something
terrible's going to happen. Do I
need to get off the train? Am I
going to die?
He can hear the b.g. noise of the train on the other end.
COLTER
I'm right here, okay? Don't be
afraid.
CHRISTINA
(ANGUISH)
Why didn't I get off the train?
(SIGHS)
I knew I should have driven in
today. But then there's the
bridges, right? You never know
when they'll be jammed.
That stirs something in the back of Colter's mind.
COLTER
What did you say?
100.
CHRISTINA
The bridges. You just never know
when they'll be jammed.
His heart starts racing.
FLASHBACK
On the train. Earlier. Derek in his seat, on his cell
phone. Colter nearby, overhearing him:
DEREK
Trust me, by one o'clock, the
bridge is going to be jammed...
BACK TO SCENE
Colter looks to Derek. His stomach sinks.
COLTER
"By one o'clock, the bridge is
going to be jammed." That's what
you said. You knew. You knew
there was going to be an
evacuation. You knew before it
happened. All those people walking
across the...
The realization hits.
COLTER
They're going to bomb the bridges.
While they're full of people.
ON DEREK
A slight flicker travels across Derek's face. Like a
disturbance on a surface of deep water.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
What are you talking about. Who's
going to --
Over the phone comes the HORN from the passing FREIGHT TRAIN.
Colter presses the phone to his ear, trying to hear her.
COLTER
Christina? Just hang in there.
You'll be okay.
A HAND closes over his gun. Before Colter can react, Derek
TURNS THE GUN BACK INTO HIM --
101.
BLAM! BLAM!
DEREK SHOOTS COLTER TWICE IN THE CHEST.
Colter staggers back -- slumps to his knees. Guzman cries
out -- makes a run at Derek -- who spins and --
BLAM!
SHOOTS GUZMAN DEAD.
Spent shell casings roll to a stop on the tile floor. A
terrible silence.
CHRISTINA (V.O.)
What's happening? Are you okay?
Are you there?
Derek picks up the phone and terminates the call. He coldly
evaluates the two men dying in pools of blood. Then calmly
walks out.
As the life slips from Colter's eyes, he manages to focus on
his beeping WATCH --
Where the seventeen minutes have RUN OUT. And the world
BLEACHES WHITE...
In the haze comes the mystical vision again -- but deeper in:
THE STONE WALL now curves over our heads, becoming a TUNNEL.
CHRISTINA walks away from us -- down into the tunnel. The
far end is ablaze in WHITE LIGHT.
We try calling to her. But our voice is weak and faint. She
continues towards the light... and we do not follow.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
The monitor is dark. Everything is still. Colter in his
seat. For long seconds we watch his face.
INT. ENGINEERING LAB - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
A jarring transition. We are now away from Colter's P.O.V.
and in the real, physical environment of the Source Code
operations center. Military and civilian personnel work amid
mysterious scientific equipment.
102.
Rutledge talks on a wall phone. Like a team player serving
his country.
RUTLEDGE
(INTO PHONE)
Yes... We appreciate that... I just
hope the information has come in
time to clear the bridges... Thank
you, sir.
When he hangs up, he turns to Goodwin and a few other
TECHNICIANS. Naked ambition courses through him.
RUTLEDGE
Whether or not they can stop the
bridge attack, we came up with the
intelligence. And that virtually
assures all of our futures. This
is just the beginning, guys.
(TO GOODWIN)
You did a great job, Goodwin. You
operated our captain with skill and
professionalism. What's that you
have?
Goodwin opens an envelope and slides out a CITATION.
GOODWIN
The Army investigated Colter's
helicopter crash in Iraq.
Apparently he stayed behind to fly
protective cover for a disabled
convoy until he ran out of fuel.
RUTLEDGE
What's this, then? Some kind of
posthumous reprimand for reckless
flying?
GOODWIN
No. It's the Silver Star.
Something in Goodwin's voice momentarily checks Rutledge's
breezy good humor.
RUTLEDGE
Send it on to his father. It'll
ease the pain of his son's death.
GOODWIN
I thought I might inform the
captain of the citation.
103.
RUTLEDGE
Better not. We can't risk
acquainting him with the citation
in case the memory wipe isn't
entirely clean.
GOODWIN
The memory wipe?
TECHNICIAN
I thought we were going to let him
die.
RUTLEDGE
I know, I know. But now the
Director of National Intelligence
is sure to want a closer look at
our program, and until we train up
another candidate, we'll need to
keep Colter around to demonstrate
it.
TECHNICIAN
Oh.
RUTLEDGE
This thing is much bigger than any
one of us. Goodwin, please clear
Colter's memories and re-initialize
Source Code.
Rutledge walks away. The technician gives Goodwin a look of
disgust. Goodwin carefully replaces the citation into the
envelope.
INT. CONTROL CONSOLE - DAY
Mission Control. Panels, consoles and screens. Goodwin
takes a seat at his workstation. He swings a microphone up
and goes to flip a switch.
Then stops. Unsure how to proceed. Looks down at the
envelope with the citation in it.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
Inside the capsule, the silence continues. Colter thinks to
himself. The MONITOR then comes on.
104.
GOODWIN
Captain, this is Beleaguered
Castle. Acknowledge transmission.
INT. CORRIDOR - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Rutledge walks by himself. Reflecting. Pleased with
himself. Under his breath, he acknowledges the praises he's
imagining in his head:
RUTLEDGE
Thank you, sir... I appreciate your
faith in me... It's a great day for
our country.
INT. ISOLATION UNIT
Colter looks out at Goodwin. A beat of difficult silence.
GOODWIN
How are you feeling? Are you
comfortable?
COLTER
Just do it.
GOODWIN
Come again?
COLTER
Just do it. I knew they wouldn't
let me die. At least you can make
me forget all of this. I hope.
Goodwin stares at his hands. Unmoving.
COLTER
What are you waiting for? You're
just doing your job. I'd do the
same thing if I was you. At least
you've got a shot at saving those
people on the bridges.
GOODWIN
I doubt it.
COLTER
You don't think they'll save them?
105.
GOODWIN
No. I meant, I doubt you'd be
doing this, if you were me.
An unusually personal statement, coming from Goodwin.
COLTER
Look, someone had to be where
you're sitting, and someone had to
be in here. Turned out it was you
and me.
(THEN)
Just do it. I'm tired.
GOODWIN
Would you like to see Christina
again? One last time?
Colter's not sure he heard him right.
COLTER
I don't understand.
GOODWIN
Seventeen minutes. That's all I
could give you. No mission to
fulfill. Just... the two of you.
COLTER
(STUNNED)
Why would you do that?
GOODWIN
As a favor. One prisoner to
another.
COLTER
Prisoner?
GOODWIN
You were right. About me. And
about Source Code. We've kept too
much from each other.
An odd sensation comes over Colter.
GOODWIN
I usually report in at 0600. Today
I was there early. I was there
when the call came in. Your call.
His call? They share a long look.
106.
COLTER
No... There's no way... There's no
way you could have...
Goodwin just smiles.
COLTER
(PROTESTING)
How? The Source Code was a
parallel world! You told me so!
It's hermetically sealed. Nothing
I did on that train would have any
effect on this reality!
GOODWIN
You were on the train. I was not.
COLTER
But...
GOODWIN
We didn't know if any bleed-
throughs could occur. The
implications would be staggering.
That's why you were told to avoid
unduly influencing events.
COLTER
You're saying I could have saved
those people?!
GOODWIN
No. Not in our world. The time
currents are too strong. But minor
alterations, here and there, a
phone call, say, those might slip
through. We didn't know for sure.
But you proved it.
Colter is thunderstruck. Unable to grasp it.
GOODWIN
I've been thinking about the things
you said on that call. As the day
passed, the more I understood them.
And now, I guess we've caught up to
each other.
COLTER
Man. Just when I think I
understand this...
107.
GOODWIN
(NERVOUS)
There's not much time. They think
I'm re-initializing the system.
One last look at her. That's all I
can give you. If that.
COLTER
They'll nail your ass for this.
GOODWIN
If I had any feelings, I'd worry
about that. But, as you've
maintained, I do not.
The strange path of their relationship. Ending at last at
simple, grudging respect.
COLTER
Roger that.
MACHINERY BEGINS TO HUM.
GOODWIN
This is Beleaguered Castle signing
off. Acknowledge final
transmission.
COLTER
Final transmission acknowledged.
(BEAT)
Thank you, Goodwin.
Goodwin interrupts his preparation for a last look at Colter.
The noise gets louder. The capsule begins to shake.
Colter touches the monitor. His fingers imparting to the
last image of his world a quiet benediction.
INT. CORRIDOR - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Sipping a cup of coffee, Rutledge lingers at a window,
contemplating his future.
INTERCOM (V.O.)
Dr. Rutledge, extension 16.
Blinking out of reverie, he goes over to a wall phone and
punches an extension.
108.
RUTLEDGE
This is Rutledge.
He listens. His face darkens.
RUTLEDGE
Shit.
He SLAMS down the phone and starts RUNNING.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter is back on the train. It is morning again, seventeen
minutes before the destruction. He's back in the navy
blazer. The slacks. The commuters, caught up in their
individual concerns, ignore Colter. But he looks on them
with an appreciation approaching joy.
For a moment he just sits there. Simply being alive in this
world. Attuned to the motion of the train. The sun on his
face. And across from him, oblivious, working away on her
sketch pad, is Christina.
The best sight of all.
INT. ENGINEERING LAB - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Banks of MACHINERY are RUNNING. Rutledge comes charging in.
Flustered. Barking questions.
RUTLEDGE
What is this? Who authorized this?
TECHNICIAN
We don't know, sir. But Source
Code is up and running again.
RUTLEDGE
Where's Goodwin?
The chair at the console is EMPTY.
TECHNICIAN
No idea, sir.
A DIGITAL CLOCK ticks down from 17 minutes: 15:28... 15:27...
15:26...
RUTLEDGE
What the hell is he doing?
109.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter drinks in the sight of Christina. Finally he gets up
and walks off down the aisle.
As soon as he's gone, Christina looks up. She's observed his
interest in her. Doesn't quite know what to make of it.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter is by himself in the exit door area. From his jacket
he takes out a CELL PHONE.
CLOSE ON -- THE CELL PHONE SCREEN
As he dials 9-1-1. The call connecting...
OPERATOR (V.O.)
9-1-1. What is the nature of your
emergency?
INT. CONTROL CONSOLE - DAY
Rutledge watches the computers churn.
RUTLEDGE
Shut it down.
TECHNICIAN
Sir?
RUTLEDGE
Shut down the Source Code. Right
now.
The technician hesitates.
RUTLEDGE (CONT'D)
Fine. I'll do it myself.
Rutledge sits down at the controls.
TECHNICIAN
I wouldn't do that.
Rutledge gives a dismissive snort. And yet he pauses.
RUTLEDGE
And why not?
110.
TECHNICIAN
We've never interrupted Source Code
in mid run. We'd have to literally
pull the plug. It could damage the
processors.
RUTLEDGE
Let it finish, then. No harm in
that, I guess.
(OMINOUS)
All of you are in deep shit, I
promise you. As for Goodwin, he'll
never make it off this base.
Rutledge picks up a phone.
TECHNICIAN
I don't think that's where he's
headed.
Rutledge considers. And then catches on.
RUTLEDGE
He wouldn't.
Looks up at the technician. Grows more and more uneasy.
Snapping his attention back to
THE COUNTDOWN CLOCK
Which reads: 12:42. Before it hits 12:41, Rutledge is
already out of his chair and RUNNING for the door.
RUTLEDGE
Seal the ICU. I want a detachment
of MPs meeting me on the way there.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
Colter walks down the aisle. Looks at HIS WATCH -- 12
minutes, 40 seconds. The train begins to SLOW DOWN.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Now approaching Newark Station.
Newark Station, next stop.
The Computer Engineer begins to wake up. As he does, Colter
passes by, deftly slipping the borrowed cell phone back into
the engineer's hand without being noticed.
Derek packs up his things. We see him hide his wallet into a
gap in the seat cushions and get up.
111.
The College Kid, also getting up, notices Derek's wallet,
picks it up and hurries after him.
COLLEGE STUDENT
Hey, you dropped this.
DEREK
Wow. Thanks.
Keeping his composure, Derek accepts the wallet.
Colter steps aside, allowing them to pass. Allowing it all
to happen.
The station slides into view. No one on the platform.
INT. STAIRWELL - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Rutledge furiously descends, shoving people out of his way.
INT. UNDERGROUND BUNKER - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Rutledge runs up to a locked door and swipes his access card
through the scanner. It comes up RED.
RUTLEDGE
What?!
He tries again. Red. The door stays LOCKED.
EXT. NEWARK PLATFORM - MORNING
The train comes to a halt. Unlike before, the doors stay
shut for SEVERAL SECONDS LONGER than usual. Derek waits
quietly at the doors.
Finally they open. Derek steps out onto the platform,
together with the Old Man, the College Kid and Guzman.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Newark Station.
Colter remains on board, standing in the exit area, watching.
As usual, Derek quickly flips his wallet onto the next car
and starts toward the station house. Guzman is ahead of him,
already pushing open the doors to the station.
All is quiet. Perhaps too quiet. Derek approaches the
station and sees
112.
THROUGH THE OPEN DOORS
In station lobby are POLICE OFFICERS.
Derek's jaw tightens. He changes course, heading instead for
an outdoor stairwell.
Coming UP the stairs, however, are more POLICE OFFICERS.
Wheeling around, Derek heads the other way. Walking faster,
but keeping his head. Not running, not panicking.
The train, oddly, is still sitting there.
As he nears the other end of the platform, MORE OFFICERS
appear from behind columns, cutting off his escape. The
police are coming from all sides, converging on the platform.
Yet no one panics. No one runs. Finally --
POLICE COMMANDER
(CALLING OUT)
Derek Frost.
Derek goes to get back on the train. The doors, however,
SLIDE SHUT in his face. Through the closed doors, Derek
looks in at Colter, still on the train. They stare at one
another through the window.
POLICE COMMANDER
Mr. Frost. Please turn to face us.
An entire PHALANX OF POLICE OFFICERS is on the platform.
DEREK
Of course. What's this about?
Unseen by the officers, Derek has taken out his CELL PHONE
and is DIALING IT as he turns around.
The police approach, cautiously.
POLICE COMMANDER
Place your hands in the air.
DEREK
My pleasure.
Raising his hands, he pushes SEND on his phone.
On board the train there's a RINGING.
113.
INT. TRAIN - MORNING
The DETONATOR PHONE has been removed from the bomb and now
rings harmlessly in the hand of the train's SECURITY OFFICER.
The restroom door is open and swarming with conductors
examining the bomb.
On the platform, the officers tackle Derek, subduing him.
Passengers watch at the windows, mesmerized.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Once again, please return to your
seats, ladies and gentlemen.
No way. No one's moving from the windows.
Except for Colter, who stands off by himself. The first look
of satisfaction we've ever seen on his face.
INT. UNDERGROUND BUNKER - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
An ALARM is going off. At a locked door, an Air Force
LOCKSMITH is in the process of disabling the key pad.
Rutledge paces, livid.
RUTLEDGE
I want to know who reprogrammed
this lock. And if you don't get
this open in ten seconds I'll see
that you're busted back down to
private.
LOCKSMITH
I'm already a private, sir.
RUTLEDGE
Just open it! A man's life is at
stake.
The key pad goes GREEN and the pressure lock releases.
Rutledge tears open the door.
INT. STAIRWELL - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Armed MILITARY POLICE clatter down the steps.
114.
INT. BUNKER MEDICAL FACILITY - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Goodwin enters. He locks another door behind him. He is
shaken but nevertheless going forward. In the chamber, three
MEDICS monitor gauges and screens. One of them stands up to
block his way.
MEDIC #1
Sorry, I can't let you pass.
Goodwin removes the patch on his uniform to reveal the
insignia of a major.
GOODWIN
Step aside. That's an order.
MEDIC #1
We all know your rank, Goodwin, but
I have explicit orders from
Rutledge not to --
BAM! Goodwin drops the Medic with a splintering HEADBUTT.
GOODWIN
I'm glad you know my rank. Were
you also aware I'm in the Special
Forces?
EXT. NEWARK PLATFORM - MORNING
The train has been evacuated as police investigators search
the rest of the cars. Hoards of passengers fill the platform
as conductors try to herd them towards the station.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
Ladies and gentlemen, rail service
has been cancelled. Please clear
the platform and proceed into the
station. New Jersey Transit
apologizes for the inconvenience.
EXT. NEWARK STATION - PARKING LOT - MORNING
Police cars parked everywhere. Two DETECTIVES are
questioning the Computer Engineer.
DETECTIVE
So you have no idea how your cell
phone was used to call in the tip?
115.
COMPUTER ENGINEER
No!
People mill about waiting for the buses, groaning and
complaining. Christina accosts a passing transit employee.
CHRISTINA
What now? How do we get to work?
You guys have some busses or
something?
The transit employee ignores her and walks away.
CHRISTINA
Hey! I'm talking to you!
She stands there in exasperation. This whole thing has been
designed to thwart her. Nearby, Colter sits on a bench.
COLTER
Ain't life grand?
Looking over, she notices him.
CHRISTINA
Yeah. Now I'm going get fired for
being late.
COLTER
Maybe that's a good thing.
She gives him a sharp look.
INT. UNDERGROUND BUNKER - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
Rutledge runs, now leading the detachment of MPs.
RUTLEDGE
Shoot him if you have to, you hear
me?
The MPs exchange a look of annoyance at being ordered around
by this guy.
INT. BUNKER MEDICAL FACILITY - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
A heavy INNER DOOR has been opened.
116.
INT. BUNKER ICU - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
The BEEPING of life support systems. The compressions of a
ventilator. Goodwin approaches a GURNEY. A jungle of tubes
and lines lead from the gurney into advanced machinery. A
somber look on his face.
GOODWIN
Hello, Captain.
As Goodwin edges forward, we reveal the bare foot of someone
lying there.
A DIGITAL TIMER reads 1 MINUTE.
INT. UNDERGROUND BUNKER - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
At the facility's outer door, the locksmith goes to work on
another panel as Rutledge and the MPs stand by.
LOCKSMITH
Give me twenty seconds.
RUTLEDGE
Make it ten.
Rutledge looks at HIS WATCH. It reads 52 SECONDS.
EXT. NEWARK STATION - PARKING LOT - MORNING
CLOSE ON - COLTER'S WATCH
It also reads 52 seconds.
His work is done. He's saved her. Saved them all. At least
this one time.
Only she doesn't know that. Christina stands there, arms
crossed, scowling at the parking lot.
CHRISTINA
Could this day get any worse?
COLTER
That train was taking you to a
place you didn't want to be. But
then you got off. And maybe that's
a sign.
117.
CHRISTINA
Yeah. If only.
She takes out her cell phone. The stress of her day.
CHRISTINA
I'm calling a cab. Maybe I'll only
be somewhat late for work.
Colter watches her, a quiet ache inside. Maybe some people
don't want to be saved.
INT. BUNKER ICU - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
The noise from the outer door grows louder. The MPs are only
seconds from getting inside. Goodman moves towards the life
support equipment.
As he does, we glimpse a horrifying sight: the upper half of
Colter's body -- his real body -- inside a sterile tent of
transparent plastic. His skull has been removed. A massive
apparatus has been infused directly onto his brain.
Goodwin takes a long, last look.
GOODWIN
Thank you for your service. Time
to go home.
Goodwin's hand goes to the switch to shut off life support.
His eyes on the clock. It reads 30 SECONDS.
EXT. NEWARK STATION - PARKING LOT - DAY
Christina on the phone, waiting as it dials.
COLTER
Hey.
She turns. Colter gets up.
COLTER
You can do anything you want with
your life. Starting right now.
She's taken aback. He starts walking off.
CAB DISPATCH (V.O.)
Metro Cab Dispatch.
A long beat as she watches him.
118.
CAB DISPATCH (V.O.)
Hello...?
Click. She shuts her phone.
Beat. Is she crazy? She's baffled by her own action. And
by this unusual guy here.
CHRISTINA
Wait.
Colter turns. She crosses her arms archly.
CHRISTINA
You can't just expect someone to
change her life just like that. At
the very least... you'd have to buy
that person coffee and explain your
reasons.
She waits for his response. Uneasy at putting herself out
there.
Colter's watch ticks down to the final seconds. His last
moments in this world. He has only time enough for a final
look of reassurance.
COLTER
Maybe some other time.
Disappointment flickers on her face. She turns to go.
Behind her is a STONE WALL. A BICYCLE is parked against it.
Colter's breath catches in his throat. This is it! This is
the mysterious scene he's been seeing!
HIS WATCH - Hits ZERO.
INT. BUNKER ICU - NELLIS A.F.B. - DAY
THE DIGITAL TIMER - Also hits ZERO.
The outer door OPENS. Rutledge RUSHES in, accompanied by
MPs.
RUTLEDGE
Arrest him!
Goodwin backs away from the gurney, hands in the air.
The BEEPING has given way to a MONOTONE. All of Colter's
vital signs have FLATLINED.
119.
RUTLEDGE
He's dying...!
Rutledge frantically goes to reconnect the machines -- but
Goodwin has turned off too many of them.
RUTLEDGE
Get a medical team in here! Move!
But the MPs just stare at the appalling sight of Colter's
exposed brain.
RUTLEDGE
(SHRIEKING)
What are you standing there for?!
Do it! We can save him!!!
No one moves. Rutledge rashly grabs for one of the MP's
rifles.
RUTLEDGE
I guess force is the only thing you
people understa --
MP
Back away, sir, now!
The MP has leveled his rifle at Rutledge. Who steps back,
aghast. His authority has vanished with Colter's life.
Goodwin shuts off the monitors. Silence fills the room.
Colter is dead.
Rutledge stares sorrowfully at Colter's body. Then at
Goodwin with burning hatred.
RUTLEDGE
You're a murderer.
Goodwin offers his hands to the MP.
GOODWIN
Go ahead and arrest me.
But the MP does nothing.
GOODWIN
I'll be around. Whenever you want
me.
They part as he walks out of the room. A look of grim
satisfaction on his face.
120.
EXT. NEWARK STATION - PARKING LOT - MORNING
Christina walks past the bicycle parked against the stone
wall. She's about to enter a TUNNEL that goes under the
tracks. The same tunnel from Colter's vision.
She stops. Something tells her to turn around.
The bench where Colter sat is empty.
But three feet away... Colter is standing there. Still here.
Dumbfounded, he looks at his watch -- it remains at ZERO.
He looks all around. Trees stirring in the breeze. A bird
flies overhead. The crowd of passengers outside the station.
CHRISTINA
You okay?
Colter turns to her. How can this be? He's afraid to even
speak. As if that alone could break the enchantment.
But the world is here. It goes on. That's all he knows.
Finally he swallows. Finding his voice.
COLTER
You're right. The least I can do
is buy you coffee.
This pleases Christina, although she tries not to show it.
CHRISTINA
Okay, well, come on then.
Walking forward, he joins her. The two of them disappear
down the tunnel.
A beautiful morning.
FADE OUT.
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