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	"Ronin", early, by J.D. Zeik



   










                                RONIN 

                      an original screenplay by

                              J.D. Zeik






                                             DRAFT: May 20, 1997







     A BLOOD RED SCREEN - A JAPANESE DRUM starts to play, softly,
     but tinged with a desperate edge, growing louder, joined by
     other DRUMS as a BLACK LEGEND scrolls up: In feudal Japan,
     the warrior class of Samurai were sworn to protect their
     liege lords with their lives.  Those Samurai whose liege was
     killed suffered a great shame, and they were forced to wander
     the land, looking for work as hired swords or bandits.  These
     masterless warriors were no longer referred to as Samurai,
     they were known by another name: Such men were called Ronin.
     The words hang on the screen and we hold for a BEAT, and then
     the DRUMS are cut off by - A SILENCED GUN SHOT: Thwpfft...

     FADE IN ON:

     INT. A MEDIEVAL CATHEDRAL - NIGHT

     It's dark, and so it takes us a minute to realize we're
     MOVING UP STONE SPIRALING STAIRS, up up up in what we now see
     is a medieval cathedral.  And as we continue MOVING UP
     something TRICKLES DOWN INTO FRAME - BLOOD.  Running thin,
     then thicker, as we CONTINUE TO MOVE UP the stairs and find -
     A BODY, sprawled awkwardly across the stones, arms and legs
     akimbo, not so much Christ-like as victim-like.  In one hand
     the Body holds a GUN he never had a chance to use.  In the
     other - A DARK SHAPE, we can't quite tell what it is.
     FOOTSTEPS sound from above and - THE KILLER walks into frame,
     silenced pistol dangling at his side.  We don't know him, and
     it's going to be a while before we see him again, but mark
     his face because we'll see him again.  The Killer now picks
     up the dark shape in the Body's hand, and we see it's - A
     BRIEFCASE.  The Killer cuffs the Briefcase to his wrist and
     turns to - TWO MEN standing behind him: subordinates.  The
     Killer shows them the Briefcase.

                          KILLER
               God loves me.

     THE BODY suddenly twitches -- this guy is not quite dead.
     The Killer raises his silenced pistol.

                          KILLER
                   (to his victim)
               But I don't think he's too fond of you...

     SLAM CUT TO:

     EXT. A BACK STREET - PARIS - NIGHT

     A PHONE RINGS, replacing the sound of the silenced gun shot
     we expected to hear.

     Rain-slicked cobblestones gleam in a twinkling of
     streetlight.

     EXT. A PHONE BOOTH AT THE END OF THE STREET

     The source of the ringing.  We start to PUSH SLOWLY IN one the
     phone booth, and as we do we hear the VOICE of an UGLY
     AMERICAN.

                          UGLY AMERICAN (V.O.)
               What is this?

     CUT TO:

     INT. A DRIVE BAR IN PARIS - NIGHT

     A SOCCER MATCH is in progress on a TV which sits above the
     bar in this smokey, dim dive.

                          UGLY AMERICAN (O.S.)
               This is not football...

     And now we're PULLING BACK DOWN THE LENGTH OF THE BAR.  We
     see THREE MEN sitting seperately at the bar, paying no
     attention to each other.  One of these men watches the game
     with real interest.  The Ugly American talks on from off
     screen.

                          UGLY AMERICAN (O.S.)
                   (continuing)
               ...Football is three hundred pound guys,
               they run way too fucking fast, they got
               helmets made of kevlar they use to spear
               the quarterback into the next life.

     SLAM CUT TO:

     EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE

     The phone is still ringing, louder now, and we're MOVING
     TOWARDS it while looking THROUGH AN UNSEEN PAIR OF EYES, and
     even as we drink this in we're back in -

     INT. THE BAR

     AT THE END OF THE BAR - LARRY, the Ugly American.  He's got
     an obvious attitude, all of it bad.  But there's something
     about the guy -- he's not all bluster, and he has the look of
     a seasoned tough guy who knows how to get rough and tumble.
     He's big, and yeah he's got a gut, but the rest of him looks
     solid.

                          LARRY
                   (talking to the air)
               You wanna know what football is?  It's
               hitting the other guy dirty and then
               spitting in his face when he's down.
               Football is all things American, and
               American is A-Number-One the absolute
               fucking best there is.  That's what
               football is...
                   (he points to the TV)
               ...And that's not football.

     The one man at the bar who's been watching the gam turns
     slowly and gives Larry a long look.  This is VINCENT: French,
     hard boiled and solid.  Charming when he wants to be, which
     isn't all that often.  He gives Larry a long look and then
     speaks -

                          VINCENT
                   (to Larry in perfect English)
               Football -- American football -- is a
               game for faggots.

     A BEAT.  The other two men at the bar, who seem like tough
     customers themselves, pretend not to watch too closely, but
     they're interested: what's Larry going to say?  For a moment
     it seems as if he's pissed, but then suddenly a smile breaks
     out on his face and he laughs heartily at Vincent's remark.
     Vincent joins in, as do the others.  In particular - THE
     BARTENDER looks relieved -- he's tough enough to toss a bar
     drunk, but these guys are in a different league.  The
     Bartender laughs with the others, happy to have avoided a
     confrontation as we go back to -

     EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE

     We're almost ON TOP OF the phone booth, the phone is still
     ringing as a HAND reaches INTO FRAME and snatches the phone
     from its cradle.

                          A WOMAN'S VOICE (V.O.)
                   (a touch Irish accent)
               Yes?

     ANOTHER ANGLE - And we see a woman named DEIRDRE on the
     phone: striking, dark-haired, Irish.  She carries herself
     with the same professional edge as the men inside the bar.
     Deirdre listens for a moment to the voice on the other end,
     and before she speaks she sense something - A SILHOUETTE
     stands in the shadows of the bar, watching Deirdre.  She
     gives this silhouette a measure glance before speaking, her
     hand creeping ever so slightly towards her coat.

                          DEIRDRE
               Can I help you?

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

                          SAM
               No...

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

                          DEIRDRE
               I'm here...
                   (a beat, responding to a
                    question)
               No, it was nothing.

     INT. THE BAR - A MINUTE LATER

     Sam enters and by now the men inside have all come together
     at the bar, talking casually, recognizing they're somehow all
     here for a reason.  With Larry and Vincent we see - GREGOR, a
     man from Eastern Europe.  His accent is hard to pin down,
     but he most definitely has one.  Gregor has the air of an ex-
     spook, and that's exactly what he is.  Lastly we see SWEDE --
     blonde, muscular, and somehow blank in the face.  No, he's
     not stupid -- he's a sociopath.  Now - Sam looks at the
     group, which grows quiet as he enters.  Finally, Sam speaks.

                          SAM
               Sorry I'm late...

                          VINCENT
                   (a challenge)
               What makes you think we're here to meet
               you?

                          SAM
                   (meeting Vincent's gaze)
               Who else would you be?

     Vincent turns towards the others, including them in an
     expansive gesture.

                          VINCENT
               Perhaps the police?

                          SAM
               I know cops -- and you're no cop.

     Vincent smiles at Sam's answer, satisfied, and makes room for
     Sam to join them.  Vincent takes a pack of cigarettes, shakes
     them so that one sticks out, and offers it to Sam.

                          VINCENT
               Cigarette?

                          SAM
               No thanks.

     Vincent looks a little disappointed at this as we go -

     EXT. BACK OUTSIDE - SAME TIME

     THE PAY PHONE makes a sharp noise as it's cracked back into
     the cradle.  Deirdre stands at the phone booth, lost in
     thought.  Then, without warning - Deirdre spins around,
     pulling TWO GUNS from inside her coat.  The move is fast,
     performed with the grace of a professional killer, as Deridre
     scans the horizon, but nobody seems to be watching.  Deirdre
     pockets her guns and steps into the shadows of the street,
     the better to watch -

     THE BAR - And as Deirdre watches the bar we watch her.
     PULLING BACK from Deirdre, UP INTO THE AIR and then MOVING
     THROUGH TO -

     INT. A CHEAP APARTMENT - SAME TIME

     LOOKING THROUGH A WINDOW, donw onto the street below.  Barely
     visible we can see Deirdre.  And staring at Deirdre - THE
     WATCHER.  Somebody we're going to see periodically through
     the movie.  Right now he's only a SILHOUETTE with a well-
     defined PAIR OF HANDS.  And in those hands - A KNIFE.  As the
     Watcher watches he slowly cleans his nail with the knife,
     methodically, perfectly.  And he watches.  First Deirdre, and
     then turning his attention to THE BAR.  He's especially
     interested in the bar.

     A TIME CUT TO:

     INT. THE BAR - LATER

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

     A TABLE IN THE BACK -

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

                          SAM
               He trusts you to lock up?

                          VINCENT
               Let's just say he knows who I am.

     Vincent takes out his pack of cigarettes and offer them
     around the table -- again, nobody takes on.  Vincent seems
     really disappointed by this.

                          LARRY
               Anybody wanna tell me what we're waiting
               for?

                          VINCENT
                   (lighting his cigarette)
               The question isn't what we're waiting
               for... it's who.

                          LARRY
               And who the fuck is that?

                          GREGOR
               Whoever hired us.

                          SAM
               I got this gig through a contractor.
               And he most definitely didn't know who
               was doing the hiring, only that they
               were paying a lot of money...

     There's a kind of general look around the table -- a nod or
     grunt of acknowledgement, indicating that all of these men
     were hired the same way.

                          SAM
                   (continuing his thought)
               So none of us knows who's paying the
               freight, this is just some anonymous job.
               For all we know, we're working for
               different people.

                          GREGOR
               Now that is an interesting proposition.

                          SWEDE
               How so?

                          GREGOR
               Because if there's more than one party
               involved, if we really are working for
               different people, then perhaps some of us
               are on different sides.
                   (with great meaning)
               Your orders might be different from mine.

                          LARRY
               What're you talking about, man?  I don't
               understand.

                          SWEDE
                   (quietly, but loud enough to be
                    heard)
               What a surprise...

                          LARRY
               I got a surprise for you, blondie...

                          GREGOR
                   (sharply, as if he's used to
                    giving orders)
               Why don't both of you shut up?

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

                          SAM
               Knock it off!

     There is a BEAT.  Gregor, Swede and Larry look at Sam, who
     glares them all down.  Lastly, Sam turns and looks at
     Vincent.  The two men nod at one another, acknowledging a
     kind of mutual respect.

                          SAM
               The point remains: we could be working
               for different people.  There's a chance
               for one of us...
                   (looks around the table)
               Maybe more than one of us -- has been
               paid to cross the others.  I don't know
               about you guys, but I like to know who
               I'm working for.  It can help prevent a
               great deal of...
                   (finding the right word)
               ...unpleasantness.

                          LARRY
                   (patting the gun inside his
                    cheap suit)
               Anybody tries to unpleasant me I'll put
               two between his eyes -- one to do the job
               and the other to make sure it takes.

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

     Deirdre has entered the bar, and she's amused by this last
     exchange.

                          DEIRDRE
               It's good to see you've all got such
               faith in our little undertaking.

                          LARRY
               Who the fuck are you?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (staring at Larry)
               The name is Deirdre, and I'm running this
               show.

                          GREGOR
               Who are you?  IRA?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (with a brittle laugh)
               Not likely.  Once, yeah, I was -- but
               there wasn't an inch of profit in it, and
               I'm a cash oriented girl, if you take my
               meaning.  I'm a hired gun, same as the
               rest of you, and that's all any of us
               needs to know about the other.

     Deirdre hands out several thick envelopes.  Larry and Swede
     open theirs and stare at the wads of Franc Notes stuffed
     inside.  Even Gregor cracks his envelope and peaks at his
     money.  But neither Vincent nor Sam takes a look.

                          DEIRDRE
               From here on in you want something you
               pay cash for it: no credit cards, no bank
               accounts are in place: ten percent up
               front, the rest when the job is done.
                   (a quick beat, then she looks
                    at Gregor)
               You.  What do you do and what should we
               call you?

                          GREGOR
               These days they they call me Gregor -- and
               I'm a tech.  I do electronic work,
               surveillance, computer runs.

     Deirdre turns to Sam.

                          SAM
               Sam.  I'm a weapons guy.

                          DEIRDRE
               You were a soldier, were you?

                          SAM
               Once.

     Deirdre gives Sam a look -- and he returns it.  Finally,
     Deirdre turns to Larry.

                          LARRY
               I drive -- and my name is Larry.  Larry
               from the States.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (she turns to Vincent)
               And who are you?

                          VINCENT
               I'm Vincent.  And I coordinate.

                          SAM
                   (sharply)
               Coordinate what?

                          VINCENT
               Things.  This is my country, you know.

     The two men exchange another look.  A pecking order is
     developing among the group: Vincent and Sam are both natural
     leaders, and now they're feeling one another out.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (to Vincent)
               Coordinate all you want, but make sure
               whatever you do gets cleared through me.
                   (Vincent doesn't respond for a
                    moment)
               Are we in sync on this, Vincent?

                          VINCENT
               Of course.

     Deirdre waits a BEAT, letting Vincent know what she isn't any
     more intimidated by him than he is by her.  Finally, she
     turns to Swede.

                          SWEDE
               They call me Swede.

                          LARRY
               Who's they?

                          SWEDE
               Everybody.

                          VINCENT
               And what is it you do?

                          SWEDE
               Me?
                   (with a smile)
               I kill.

     CUT TO:

     INT. A WAREHOUSE - DAY

     A PAPER TARGET, in the shape of a human being, dances in
     place as it is riddles with GUNSHOTS, each shot hitting the
     target in the belly, each shot fired by - Larry, whose been
     shooting a sleek automatic pistol from which he's just
     discharged an entire clip.  The gun is empty, Larry turns to
     Sam, who stands next in line.

                          SAM
                   (looking at the target)
               You shoot alright.

                          LARRY
               Gets the job done.

                          SAM
               All in the stomach, though.  Your man
               might live.

                          LARRY
               Not for long.

                          SAM
               Long enough to shoot back.

                          LARRY
               Is that right?

                          SAM
               It's been known to happen.

                          LARRY
                   (a challenge)
               Why don't you go do better, then...

     Without a word, Sam pops a new clip into the gun and SHOOTS
     THE LIGHTS out of several other human targets, hitting each
     target in a different place.  One he clips between the eyes,
     the next in the heart, one in the groin, and then the last
     target - He SPLITS DOWN THE MIDDLE, firing shot after shot
     from the head to the groin until the target is sheared in
     half.  Larry is impressed in spite of himself.

                          LARRY
               Yeah, well...  My way works too.

                          SAM
               My way is better.

     IN A CORNER OF THE WAREHOUSE -

     Gregor has set up a table loaded with computers and
     electronic whizmos.  Right now Gregor is holding a
     particularly high-tech type CELL PHONE in his hands, looking
     at it almost lovingly.

                          DEIRDRE (O.S.)
               Is it alright?

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Deirdre sits nearby, looking at the cell
     phone.

                          GREGOR
               It's quite satifactory.

                          DEIRDRE
               Good, because it cost enough.  There's
               cheaper phones by far than that one, man:
               you better fucking use it.

                          GREGOR
                   (almost caressing the phone)
               I intend to.  This phone is wired like no
               other: it's got an encryption chip and
               instant sat-a-link recognition, it can
               talk to any computer in any language and
               make it understand.  With my custom
               hardware and this phone I can trace the
               target's cell phone signature and follow
               him anywhere he goes...

                          DEIRDRE
               You sure about this?

                          GREGOR
               I'd stake my reputation.

                          DEIRDRE
               But would you stake your life, that's the
               question...

                          GREGOR
               In this business, your life and your
               reputation are more often than not one
               and the same.

     From off screen we hear MUNCHING.  It's - Larry inhaling a
     sandwich.  A malicious look comes over Swede's face, who's
     cleaning a pistol and sitting near Larry.

                          SWEDE
               You should watch what you eat.

                          LARRY
               Who the fuck died and appointed you food
               czar?

                          SWEDE
               I'm just worried about your health,
               Larry.  You could stand to shed a few
               pounds.

                          LARRY
                   (sensitive about his weight)
               And you could stand to get a little
               smarter, ain't that right you dumb blonde
               fuck?

                          SWEDE
                   (sensitive about the dumb
                    blonde thing)
               Who you calling dumb, dickless?

     Both men eyeball one another, and then suddenly Larry reaches
     for his piece, and as soon as he does this Swede does the
     same thing, but before they can do anything - DEIRDRE'S GUN
     swings INTO FRAME, smashing Swede in the face and dropping
     him to the floor.  Larry's mouth drops open in surprise, but
     it's too late: Deirdre kicks him in the stomach and then
     rabbit punches him in the back of the neck, driving him to
     the ground.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (standing above them)
               Next one of you fuckers plays this game
               I'm going to do for you myself.  I won't
               say it again: we don't have time for this
               shit!  There's a clock running on this
               job, gentlemen, and I mean to be on
               schedule.

     A TENSE MOMENT as Deirdre stares down at these tough guys --
     letting them know who's in charge.  A SOUND from OFF SCREEN
     interrupts this moment: a DOOR opening, as we see - Vincent,
     who stands in the door, wearing his coat and hat.

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

                          VINCENT
               Let's go for a ride.

     Vincent and Sam start off, moving towards the door, while Swede
     and larry slowly pick themselves up off the ground.

                          SAM
               Where to?

                          VINCENT
               To see a man about a thing.

                          SAM
               I can do that.

     EXT. THE WAREHOUSE - SUNSET

     A DESOLATE URBAN LANDSCAPE - Sam and Vincent walking away
     from the warehouse, which is housed in what looks to be the
     toughest neighborhood in the city, filled with CHEAP CONCRETE
     PUBLIC HOUSING and INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.

     THE SETTING SUN throws a red glow on the street, giving the
     raw concrete buildings a blood-colored tint, as Sam and
     Vincent approach a FIAT, a car neither too old nor too new.
     Before they can reach the car, the two men are intercepted by
     FOUR TOUGHS, young guys in their early twenties.  The LEADER
     of the Toughs apporaches Vincent.

                          LEADER
                   (subtitled French)
               Who gave you permission to park here?

                          SAM
                   (to Vincent)
               What's he saying?

                          VINCENT
               Pretty much what you'd expect.

                          SAM
                   (with a sigh)
               That's what I thought.

                          LEADER
                   (in French)
               There's a charge for parking on our
               block.

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

                          VINCENT
                   (to Sam)
               He says this is their block.

                          SAM
               As in, they own it?

                          VINCENT
               Something like that...

                          SAM
               And I suppose he's saying that we oughta
               give them something for using it, huh?

                          VINCENT
               I didn't know that you spoke French.

                          SAM
               I don't.  But the language he's speaking
               is universal.

     ANGLE ON THE LEADER - Who's smirking at Vincent and Sam.
     Sam's words make a great deal of sense: the Leader is
     speaking the universal language of "give me some money or
     I'll kick your ass."

                          SAM (O.S.)
               I guess we oughta give them something...

     CUT BACK TO: Vincent and Sam.

                          VINCENT
               If you think we should.

     Vincent backfists the Leader in the nose -- hitting him so
     hard that the Leader skitters back on unsteady feet and then
     sits down on his ass.  This blow hurt, but the real damage is
     to the Leader's pride.  Now - One of the Toughs rushes at
     Sam, only to have Sam perform what looks like a jujitsu throw
     which savagely jerks the Tough off his feet and flattens him.

                          SAM
                   (as if it were an accident)
               Oh man, I am sorry about that...
                   (he sticks his hand out)
               Let me give you a hand.

     Sam reaches down as if to help the Tough, who ignores the
     hand and totters to his feet.  As soon as he's up he turns
     and runs away, followed by the other Toughs.  Now only the
     leader is left behind.  He looks for a second at Vincent and
     Sam, and then turns and runs after his friends.  Vincent
     calls after him in French, but whatever he says isn't
     translated.  Vincent turns to unlock the car.

                          SAM
               What'd you say to him?

                          VINCENT
               I asked if we could give him anything
               else.

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

     CUT TO:

     INT. THE FIAT - SAME TIME

                          VINCENT
               That was a nice move you did on our young
               friend.  Judo?

                          SAM
               Jujitsu.

                          VINCENT
               Same thing, isn't it?

                          SAM
               Not at all.  Similar, but not the same.

                          VINCENT
               What's the difference?

                          SAM
               One's a lot more painful than the other.

     Vincent laughs, and Sam looks out the window at the city of
     Paris as we MOVE THROUGH to the outside world of -

     EXT. PARIS DRIVING MONTAGE - TWILIGHT

     A SERIES OF QUICK CUTS of the car driving through Paris at
     night.  We don't see familiar sights like the Eiffel Tower or
     the Arc de Triomph, but instead - We travel through the LEFT
     BANK, down a series of Mazy Alleys which twist and turn,
     filled with bistros, bars and falafel joints.  NEON SIGNS
     line the streets for as far as the eye can see.  Near the end
     of this trip we hear the SOUND OF A MATCH FLARING, followed
     by -

                          SAM (V.O.)
               Could I get one of those?

     INT. THE CAR - STILL DRIVING - SAME TIME

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

                          VINCENT
               Help yourself.
                   (quick beat)
               Since when do you smoke?

                          SAM
                   (lighting up)
               I have, I don't know, maybe a cigarette a
               week.

                          VINCENT
               A cigarette?  As in one?
                   (exasperated, almost to
                    himself)
               One cigarette a week, who smokes like
               that?

                          SAM
               I do.

                          VINCENT
               Christ, I smoke a pack-and-a-half a day,
               and I tell myself I could be worse.
                   (takes a satisfying drag)
               It's just so damned pleasurable.

                          SAM
                   (blowing a smoke ring with
                    great skill)
               It has it's moments.
                   (stubs out cigarette)
               Course, you get cancer and die, that's
               the down side.

                          VINCENT
                   (with a sigh)
               There is that.

     Vincent stamps his cigarette out, looking vaguely unhappy
     that Sam has spoiled his smoke.

                          SAM
               So, Vincent: why bring me along for the
               ride?  Job like this calls for a warm
               body, somebody who can stand around and
               look threatening.  A tough guy.

                          VINCENT
               Like Larry or Swede.

                          SAM
               Exactly.  Why not bring them?

                          VINCENT
               Let's just say I thought the
               conversational possibilities were
               limited.  Of course, I might have brought
               Gregor, but he didn't seem like the right
               candidate -- for this.

                          SAM
               Watch that one, he's an ex-spook for
               sure, maybe Stasi, maybe KGB.  He's
               smart, Gregor is.

                          VINCENT
               So is the woman.

                          SAM
               Deirdre?  Smart, yeah, and seriously
               goddamned dangerous.

                          VINCENT
               I wonder if she truly left the IRA.

                          SAM
               I've wondered that myself.  None of this
               answers my question, though...
                   (suddenly direct)
               Why bring me?

                          VINCENT
               I wanted to see who you were.

                          SAM
               Who am I?

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

                          VINCENT
               You were once some kind of special
               forces.  Airborne Ranger, maybe a Navy
               SEAL.  After that you rode shotgun for
               the CIA in some place like El Salvador or
               Afghanistan, a real mercenary.
                   (beat)
               Only now -- now you're like the rest of
               us, it's a very competitive market since
               the end of the cold war.  There's a lot
               of hired guns out here, and not nearly
               enough work to go around.

                          SAM
               That's right: there's not hardly enough
               work these days, nothing that pays the
               big money, anyhow.  Then along comes this
               job, paying so much goddamned money I
               couldn't afford not to take it.  Somebody's
               paying through the nose for this.

                          VINCENT
               They certainly are.  Whatever it is we're
               going to steal, it must be quite
               something.

                          SAM
               Whatever it is it must be goddamned
               priceless.

     And on that thought we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. A SIDE STREET - NIGHT

     The Fiat pulls up to the curb and Vincent and Sam get out.
     Vincent leads Sam around a corner and they come to -

     AN EXQUISITE PARK, a small, perfectly manicured place -- a
     kind of mini-Luxembourg Gardens in the middle of nowhere.
     When Sam sees the park, he draws an involuntary breath.

                          VINCENT
               Lovely, isn't it?

                          SAM
               They'd have to keep something like this
               under lock and key in New York, and it
               would still get fucked up.

     The two men enter the park, which is, indeed, open to the
     public.  Inside, sitting on a bench in the back, almost
     invisible from the street, we see - FRANCOIS, a stubble-faced
     tough with a stained shirt and bad teeth.  Vincent and Sam
     draw near.  This next conversation between Francois and
     Vincent is in FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

                          FRANCOIS
               That's good right where you are, Vincent.

     Vincent signals for Sam to stop.  Both Vincent and Sam are
     still several feet away from Francois.

                          VINCENT
               Do you have it?

                          FRANCOIS
               Not so fast.
                   (nods slightly to Sam)
               Who's that?

                          VINCENT
               He's company.

                          FRANCOIS
                   (as if he recognizes Sam)
               Bad company...

                          VINCENT
               What do you mean?

                          FRANCOIS
               He's a cop, Vincent, he's French and he's
               a cop and you better shoot him in the
               fucking head right now!

     Sam hasn't said a word -- he doesn't seem to understand
     what's been said, but he has noted the urgency with which
     Francois spoke.  Now - We HOLD FOR A BEAT.  Neither Vincent
     nor Francois pulls out a piece to shoot Sam.  Instead they
     wait to see if Sam will respond in any way to what Francois
     said.  The conversation now switches to ENGLISH, which (it
     turns out) Francois speaks fairly well.

                          SAM
                   (to Vincent)
               What's going on?

                          VINCENT
               I just wanted to see something.

                          SAM
                   (that edge creeping into his
                    voice)
               See what?

     Vincent isn't going to answer, but the overbearing Francois
     chimes in.

                          FRANCOIS
               He wanted to see how you reacted when I
               said that you were a cop.

                          SAM
                   (he can't believe this)
               You told him I was a cop?

                          FRANCOIS
               He asked me to say it.

                          SAM
                   (looking at Vincent, truly
                    pissed)
               He asked you to?

                          VINCENT
               I needed to know.

                          SAM
               You need to know a lot of shit, Vincent.

                          FRANCOIS
                   (to Vincent, in subtitled
                    French)
               Are you ready?

     Francois's French words give Sam pause -- he's wondering
     what's being said, as - Vincent moves towards Francois,
     leaving Sam several steps away.  The conversation is again in
     SUBTITLED FRENCH.

                          VINCENT
                   (taking out an envelope)
               Here's yours.

                          FRANCOIS
               There's been a slight problem.

                          VINCENT
                   (immediately tensing)
               What's that?

     Francois gives the slightest of nods, indicating that Vincent
     should look towards a place perhaps thirty yards away -
     A COPSE OF TREES, where we see a SNIPER pointed a telescopic
     rifle at Vincent.

                          FRANCOIS
                   (still in subtitled French)
               If you say a word in English, Vincent, my
               friend with the high powered sporting
               rifle will shoot you in the throat.
               Sorry to screw you over like this, but
               the information you want might get me
               killed if I give it to you, and that's a
               price I'm not willing to pay.

                          VINCENT
                   (in French)
               I take it you still want the money...

                          FRANCOIS
                   (in English, with a grin)
               Of course.

     SAM'S POV: Looking at Vincent and Francois.

     The men are talking, and from here we can't really hear them
     speak.  All Sam can see is an earnest Vincent listening to
     Francois talk, almost as if Francois is giving Vincent
     instructions.  Now - Vincent reaches into his pocket,
     reaching for the envelope of cash he's carrying.  As he hands
     the money to Francois, Vincent uses his free hand to pull out
     his gun while - Sam already has his gun out -- somehow he
     figured out what was going on -- and now Francois looks on in
     stunned disbelief as -

     Sam fires a single shot, hitting Francois in the shoulder,
     driving him away from - Vincent, who now squeezes off several
     rapid fire shots at the sniper, while - Francois, bleeding
     but still very much alive, now has his piece free just as -
     The Sniper, his gun firing wildly into the air, falls to the
     ground, shot dead by Vincent, and now - Francois is drawing a
     bead on Vincent when - Sam hits Francois with a fusillade of
     bullets in the chest and now - A SINGLE SPENT BULLED CASING
     flies through the air in SLOW MOTION and lands on the ground,
     spinning around until it comes to a halt and - A HEAVY
     SILENCE FALLS, as the last echo of the last gunshot finally
     dies.  Vincent and Sam look at one another, see that they're
     still alive, and then look back at - The two men they've
     shot.  Francois isn't quite dead.  Blood bubbles from his
     lips as Vincent leans over him.  Again, they speak in
     SUBTITLED FRENCH

                          VINCENT
               Where's my information?

                          FRANCOIS
                   (with a grim smile, pointing to
                    his head)
               In here...

                          VINCENT
               Then you better find it in your heart to
               tell me, Francois, because while your
               death is inevitable, it still isn't
               decided how painful it's going to be.

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

                          SAM
               Now would be a good time to get the fuck
               out of here.

     INT. THE FIAT - LATER/NIGHT

     The two men drive in silence for a moment.  Vincent lights a
     cigarette and offers one to Sam, who refuses.  Finally, Sam
     speaks.

                          SAM
               You know, what you pulled back there,
               that was bullshit.

                          VINCENT
               I needed to see if you were a cop.
                   (defensively)
               I'm a popular man with the police, Sam,
               and whenever they try to catch me they
               always do it with an inside guy -- some
               man on some job who seems more
               trustworthy than all the others put
               together.  And that's the guy you have to
               watch out for.
                   (beat)
               I hate cops...

                          SAM
                   (insulted that Vincent would
                    even consider it)
               Well I ain't a cop.

     A BEAT, the two men driving in silence.

                          VINCENT
               How did you know?

                          SAM
               Know what?

                          VINCENT
               That there was a gun pointed at me.

                          SAM
               I saw you look off when Francois nodded
               his head.  I figured he wasn't pointing
               out a particularly rare shrub, and the
               rest was easy.

                          VINCENT
               But how did you know I would have the
               presence of mind to pull my weapon
               when I did?

                          SAM
                   (as if it's obvious)
               Because that's what I would have done...

     CUT TO:

     EXT. AN APARTMENT HOUSE - A LITTLE LATER/NIGHT

     Vincent's Fiat is parked at the curb in front of this
     apartment house.  Vincent and Sam exit the car and move
     towards the house -- a silence hanging between them.  Right
     before they go into the house, Vincent takes out the envelope
     full of cash that was supposed to have been for Francois.  He
     thinks for a moment and then hands the whole envelope to Sam.

                          VINCENT
               You saved my life back there in the park.
               I know this doesn't begin to make it
               right between us...

     Vincent's voice trails off -- he doesn't know what to say.
     Sam takes the money out of the envelope -- half he keeps for
     himself, the other he gives to Vincent.

                          SAM
               What I did back in the park I did because
               we're working together -- we're on the
               same team.
                   (holding up the money)
               This is business -- this is work.  We did
               it together, we share the spoils, even
               split.

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

                          VINCENT
               I owe you a heavy debt.

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

                          SAM
               Whatever you say.

     They enter the house and the door closes behind them.  A
     second later we hear -

                          DEIRDRE (V.O.)
               What'd you do with the money?

     INT. THE HOUSE - A LITTLE LATER

     Vincent and Sam sit with Deirdre in a room, alone.  They've
     told her about the park, and she seems a little pissed about
     all of this.

                          VINCENT
               We kept it...

                          DEIRDRE
                   (a little annoyed)
               Is that right?

                          SAM
               Hazard pay...

                          DEIRDRE
                   (with an exhalation of disgust)
               The two of you were supposed to go to a
               simple meet and come back with a simple
               piece of information, and instead you
               went to fucking war...

                          SAM
               We weren't real thrilled about it
               either...

     Deirdre shakes her head in disgust and rises.  We FOLLOW HER
     INTO -

     AN ADJOINING ROOM -

     Where Larry, Swede and Gregor are waiting.  They look up
     expectantly at Deirdre, who crosses through the room without
     stopping -- she's really pissed about this turn of events.

                          LARRY
               So what's the deal?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (barely stopping, very
                    snappish)
               The deal?  The deal is we leave for Nice
               at first light.

     And she exits, leaving these three men behind along with Sam
     and Vincent, who have entered from the other room.  larry
     looks at the two of them.

                          LARRY
               What'd you guys do?

     EXT. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE - LATER THAT NIGHT

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

     INT. SAM'S ROOM - SAME TIME

     Sam has pushed all the furniture aside to make enough room to
     do a martial arts form.  Right now he's frozen, one leg
     extended in a kick, balancing on the other leg.  Now - A
     KNOCK at his door -- seconds later, it opens.  Deirdre stands
     there, watching as Sam holds his position for a BEAT more,
     and then retracts his leg.

                          DEIRDRE
               I feel as if I've wandered onto the set
               of Enter The Dragon.  Could you teach me
               to do that?

                          SAM
               I didn't think to see you again tonight.
               You were pretty pissed.

                          DEIRDRE
               I still am.

                          SAM
               Is that right?

                          DEIRDRE
               That's right.

     Deirdre spings at Sam, throwing martial arts combinations at
     him: punch followed by kick, elbow strike followed by palm
     thrust.  Sam parries her blows as she drives him across the
     floor until he's got his back to the wall.  Their movements
     are controlled, but powerful, and there's something almost
     flirtatious about the whole thing.  Now -

     Deirdre throws one last punch which Sam ducks.  He slips
     behind her and suddenly they square off in earnest.  The
     previous martial arts stuff was a kind of choreographed
     exercise, but now - They spar for real -- they never hit one
     another, but they come awfully close, hands and feet whizzing
     through the air, throwing rapid-fire combinations and
     techniques.  They're not angry, but they're not kidding,
     either.  Finally - Deirdre feints a punch that distracts
     Sam's attention from - The KICK she throws right behind her
     punch, and she smiles as - WHUMP!  Sam wasn't distracted at
     all -- he drops to the ground beneath her kick and catches
     her standing leg with a sweep which takes her to the ground
     and now - She's trapped beneath him.  The two of them are
     breathing hard from the exertion, their faces close to one
     another, shining with sweat and excitement and - We've gone
     from flirting to an almost primal seduction, and with their
     faces only inches apart Deirdre leans in to kiss Sam, and
     he's about to meet her half way when he pulls back.

                          SAM
               Part of me says I should just look at
               this as a perk.  You know, a bonus.  But
               then I remember you're you -- Deirdre
               who used to belong to the IRA -- and it
               occurs to me that deceit and subterfuge
               come very naturally to you.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (kissing him very lightly)
               Nobody's saying they don't.

                          SAM
                   (returning the kiss, just as
                    lightly)
               And when I consider that, I have to
               wonder if you don't have some ulterior
               motive for being here, with me, right
               now.

                          DEIRDRE
               I probably do.
                   (pulling him close)
               But for the time being, I'm willing to
               forget about it...

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

     CAMERA MOVES UP - THROUGH THE BUILDING, floor by floor, until
     we've reached -

     EXT. A ROOFTOP GARDEN - MEANWHILE

     Deirdre and Sam are not the only ones indulging in
     extracurricular activities.  Up here in this rooftop garden
     we find Swede and Gregor talking in hushed tones.

                          GREGOR
               I would imagine that the great
               satisfaction in all of this will be
               killing the American.

                          SWEDE
                   (we know this isn't true)
               I hadn't thought about it.  Understand
               me, Gregor -- I take no pleasure in
               killing.  It doesn't bother me one bit,
               but I don't get off on it.

                          GREGOR
               A means to an end, is that it?

                          SWEDE
               That's it.

                          GREGOR
                   (he rises to leave)
               Then I guess we're set.

                          SWEDE
               There is one other thing...

                          GREGOR
               What's that?

     Suddenly Swede pulls Gregor down to the rooftop with a harsh
     THUD.  Within seconds he has his gun pressed to Gregor's
     head.

                          GREGOR
               What are you doing?

                          SWEDE
               Don't cross me...

                          GREGOR
               Nobody's going to do that!

                          SWEDE
               Really?

                          GREGOR
                   (truly frightened)
               I need you, Swede, I can't do this
               without you!

                          SWEDE
                   (beat, then he puts his gun
                    away)
               I just wanted to make sure you knew who
               you were dealing with.

                          GREGOR
               I do, I do...

     Swede is now on his feet, walking away, back into the
     apartment house.

                          SWEDE
                   (this is almost to himself)
               Just remember it, then.

     And he's gone.  And as soon as he is, we notice something
     strange about Gregor: he's not the least bit scared -- he
     laughs a little low laugh as we - 

     DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. THE HOUSE - DAWN

     GRAY LIGHT seeps in from the horizon, while inside in -

     INT. SAM'S ROOM - SAME TIME

     Deirdre is pulling her dress over her head.  Sam seems to be
     sleeping in his bed as she moves like a cat towards the door
     when -

     Sam's HAND reaches out, gently yet firmly, and takes her by
     the arm.

                          SAM (O.S.)
               No goodbye?

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Sam is somehow sitting up, wide awake --
     looking at Deirdre with a penetrating glance.

                          DEIRDRE
               Look, Sam, don't take it the wrong way
               when I tell you we won't be doing this
               again.

                          SAM
               You don't have to explain yourself to me,
               Deirdre.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (almost surprised by this)
               I know I don't have to, Sam, it's just
               that, for once, I want to.  when I was a -
                   (almost with a sneer)
               Patriot, it was a given I'd sleep with
               any man it was deemed necessary for me to
               sleep with.  You know: any man who needed
               setting up.  Sometimes so we might
               blackmail him, sometimes so he could be
               killed.
                   (a quick beat)
               Sometimes so I could kill him myself.
               IRA isn't exactly an enlightened feminist
               organization, Sam.  To most of the men I
               with I was always the girl.  "Send the girl
               to do it."  "Tell The girl to take care of
               it."  "Have the girl fuck him."
                   (a quick beat)
               But I look at you and I get this feeling
               you take me for what I am: no more, no
               less.

                          SAM
               You're a hired gun, Deirdre -- just like
               me.

                          DEIRDRE
               Exactly.  And last night I wanted to be
               with someone who was just like me.

     Somewhere in all of this Deirdre has sat back down on the
     bed, and somehow now she's only inches away from Sam.
     They're lips brush and -

     A MUTED PHONE RINGS in a nearby room, breaking the moment.  A
     QUICK BEAT, then -

                          DEIRDRE
               I better be getting that.

                          SAM
               Duty calls?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (with a trace of a sigh)
               Just business.

     Deirdre gives Sam a light kiss on the lips and then she opens
     his door.  The muted phone is a little louder now.  Deirdre
     closes Sam's door as she exits, but - Sam reaches out a hand
     and catches the door right before it snaps shut.  He watches
     THROUGH THE DOOR CRACK as - Deirdre cross the hall and
     opens the door to her room, and now the phone rings loudly
     until the door shuts, muting the sound once again, shutting
     Sam out.  The phone stops ringing as Deirdre answers and as
     this happens Sam shuts his door and as the door closes we go
     to - BLACK.  Just for a second.  And then - BLINDING SUN hits
     us in the eyes as we find ourselves above -

     EXT. NICE - DAY

     A DAZZLING OVERHEAD MOVING SHOT, establishing that we've
     changed locales, moved to a place filled with sun and blue
     water and reflective surfaces: the Cote d'Azure.  We start to
     MOVE DOWN TOWARDS -

     EXT. A PRIVATE BEACH - NICE - MEANWHILE

     A TOPLESS GRANDMA reclines on a beach chair, soaking up rays,
     sipping a drinnk just delivered by a young stud of a WAITER.
     Nearby -

     AT A ROUND TABLE -

     A nice distance from anyone who might try to listen in, we
     find our group: Deirdre, Sam, Vincent, Gregor, Swede, and
     Larry.  Food and drink surround them.  Larry is, of couse,
     still eating.

                          DEIRDRE
               Now then, let's run through it one more
               time, shall we?
                   (to Gregor)
               What's your job?

                          GREGOR
               I use my cell phone to get computer
               access to the telecommunications
               satellite used by our target.  I trace
               his cell phone signature and use it to
               pin point his location as he moves
               through Nice, relaying that information
               to you.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (to Larry)
               Next.

                          LARRY
                   (a sigh, he's done this too
                    many times)
               You call me with the target's route, I
               follow along until we've reached the
               attack point and then I run his squag ass
               off the road.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (to Swede)
               Which leads us to...

                          SWEDE
               I ride with fat-boy...

                          LARRY
                   (under his breath)
               Eat shit and die slowly...

                          SWEDE
               After we stop the target car I get out
               and use the heavy artillery to kill the
               driver and his bodyguard.

                          LARRY
               I blast the lead car into oblivion...

                          VINCENT
                   (picking up)
               While Sam and I take out the back two
               cars...

                          DEIRDRE
               Leaving...

                          SWEDE
                   (picking it up)
               ...Leaving me to step in, drop the target
               in the back seat, and get the package...

                          DEIRDRE
                   (with a quick look at Sam)
               While...

                          SAM
                   (returning her look)
               ...While I back him up, making sure to
               get the package if something goes wrong
               and somebody takes Swede down.

     Nobody else seems to notice this look between them, but we
     should -- if only to note that there's something about the
     way Deirdre queries Sam about his role, and something about
     the way Sam answers her without overly reacting -- they're
     not flirting, but there's a kind of acknowledgment of the
     history they now have between them.  But -- nobody else
     notices, and Swede's line follows Sam's without breaking the
     flow of the dialogue.

                          SWEDE
               Nobody's taking me anywhere...

                          DEIRDRE
               And then...

                          LARRY
               Then Swede and I split with the package
               and meet you back at the rendezvous.

                          DEIRDRE
               And then...

                          VINCENT
               And then Sam, you and I clean up
               whatever's left to be cleaned.

                          DEIRDRE
               Very good.  Now all we have to do is live
               long enough to get paid.

     EXT. A POSH HOTEL - LATER - NIGHT

     A ROW OF ROOMS, each one with a light behind a shade.  Even
     as we watch the light in each room goes off: one two three
     four five six lights -- one for each member of the team.  The
     night before the big event nobody breaks curfew.

     ACROSS THE STREET -

     A BAR -

     Through the bar window we see the Watcher's silhouette.  A
     match flares as the Watcher lights a cigarette, REVEALING his
     face for the first time: weathered, sharp, treacherous.  THE
     MATCH goes out, and the Watcher's face FADES TO BLACK, and so
     do we.

     FADE IN ON:

     EXT. THE HILLS OF NICE - MORNING

     A PRIVATE ESTATE IN THE HILLS -

     A CARAVAN OF BLACK ARMOR PLATED CARS, all idling, ready to
     pull out, filled with muscular men in suits with bluges under
     their jackets, all of them waiting for - THE TARGET.  Except
     we've seem him before and he wasn't called the Target: he was
     the Killer from the first scene of the film: the gunman in
     the cathedral who made off with -  THE BRIEFCASE.  Which the
     briefcase is still handcuffed to his side.  Now the Target
     gets into his car, a BLACK MERCEDES, and as soon as he's in
     the caravan pulls out and - The Target takes out his cell
     phone, punches in a number and starts to talk, and as he does
     we - PULL BACK, INTO THE AIR, leaving the Caravan behind as
     we MOVE TOWARDS THE WATER and -

     THE PROMENADE DES ANGLAIS, the long roadway that runs the
     length of the town adjacent to the beach.  It's a special
     place, a huge road for cars, along with a promenade for
     tourists.  Here we come upon -

     AN OUTDOOR CAFE -

     Where we find Deirdre, a laptop in front of her, wearing a
     HEADSET.  And, lest we think she looks out of place, we get
     a look at -

     THE REST OF THE CAFE -

     Where many of the other PATRONS are typing away on laptops,
     or chattering like crazy on their cell phone.  She types a
     sentence on her keyboard, and as she types she says it out
     loud.

                          DEIRDRE
               Alright, Gregor, I'm...

     CUT TO:

     INT. A CRAMPED COMPTUER CONTROL ROOM - SAME TIME

                          GREGOR
                   (finishing her sentence)
               Ready when you are...

     Gregor is sitting behind a console, looking at Deirdre's
     message, which we can read on his laptop.  Gregor also has a
     much bigger COMPUTER with him as well, and on this screen we
     see - A COMPUTER GRAPHIC MAP OF NICE.  This is a map of
     incredible detail, a high-tech graphic rendering of Nice.
     Now - THE MAP starts to shift, randomly moving about the city
     as it searches for the proper signal.  The computer isolates
     an entire district of the city, enlarges a part of the
     district, and then locates and enlarges a single street.  Now
     - On screen a FLASHING CURSOR appears on the map, the TARGET.
     The Cursor starts to move down one of the streets of Nice and
     as we follow the Curson it TURNS INTO - THE TARGET CAR,
     driving home the point that Gregor is now locked onto the
     Target.  THE JAPANESE DRUMS we heard in the opening sequence
     start to play again -- softly, ominously, and we're on -

     EXT. A SIDE STREET

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

     INT. THE FIAT

     Vincent sits behind the wheel, while Sam sits next to him,
     loading a small arsenal of weapons.

     The DRUMS grow, a little louder now, a little more urgent.

     EXT. ANOTHER STREET

     A VOLVO idles, waiting for something, Larry behind the wheel
     of this car, and sitting next to him Swede.  The DRUMS
     continue to play, and their volume is still low, but they're
     jarring, setting our nerves on edge.

     INT. THE VOLVO

                          LARRY
               Where is this broad?

                          SWEDE
               You should learn a little patience.

                          LARRY
               Is that right?

                          SWEDE
               It's consider a virtue in some corners
               of the world.

                          LARRY
               Not in mine.

     THE CAR PHONE rings, and Swede pushes a button.  Deirdre's
     Voice is heard on the speaker phone.

                          DEIRDRE (V.O.)
               Hello gentlemen, are we ready?

     EXT. THE CAFE

     Deirdre looks at her laptop and relays Gregor's instructions.
     She speaks over her headset as if she's conducting ordinary
     business -- as if she's giving someone traffic directs
     over the phone.  The JAPANESE DRUMS continue, quiet and yet
     intense.

                          DEIRDRE
               You want to take a left, then, so that
               you're going west.

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

     THE CHASE MONTAGE: A SERIES OF CUTS AS -

     The Volvo takes a flying left turn -

     Gregor watches the Target on his computer as it moves towards
     the Promenade des Anglais, typing the results on his
     keyboard as - The Volvo careens down a steep hill, hits a
     bump, and flies through the air a good fifteen feet, even as -
     The Fiat follows close behind and hits the same bump, does
     the same flight through the air and lands with a thud -

     THE CARAVAN of cars -

     THE TARGET CAR -

     THE TARGET, still talking away on his cell phone - THE
     COMPUTER MAP tracking the Target's movements, as the Map
     shifts and moves as it keeps pace with the target, and now -

     The Promenade des Anglais is right ahead and the DRUMS build
     to a crescendo as -

     The Volvo SMASHES into the Target Car and they grind
     together, as -

     CARS 3 & 4 in the Caravan are cut off by Vincent's Fiat,
     which forces them to slam to a halt, as -

     Larry runs the Target Car to a halt and the JAPANESE DRUMS
     stop.

     Larry and Swede hop out of the Volvo, and Swede brandishes a
     MONSTER of a MACHINE GUN, with which he opens fire, a blast
     of huge guage shells spitting a trail of fire, smashing
     against THE WINDSHIELD of the Target Car, which is bullet-
     proof.  The windshield doesn't break right away -- but the
     heavy blast of firepower causes the windsield to buckle.

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

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

     The LEAD CAR of the caravan which has only now realized
     what's going on behind it, and as frantic Bodyguards drive
     back towards the carnage - The Missle IMPACTS, blowing the
     Car sideways.

     Meanwhile - Sam and Vincent are taking out the Other
     Bodyguards, and these guys are warriors -- they moves as a
     team, each man with a gun in both hands, using a weapon until
     it's out of bullets and then discarding it in favor of a new
     one.

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

     The Target Car, where the Target is seated in the backseat,
     pulling out his own piece, ready to fight to the death
     himself as -

     Swede continues blasting away at the windshield with his
     monster gun, and now - The Windshield has started to crack
     and splinter, and abruptly, it shatters, instantly bursting a
     bright red as Swede's bullets tear up the body of the Driver.

     Now Sam has reaches the Target Car, just as the Target, who
     is armed and, as we know, not exactly helpless, steps out of
     the car and sights in on Swede and - ZING!  Sam fires,
     winging the Target, knocking the gun out of his hand and
     still the Target won't give up without a struggle, he hits
     Swede with the Briefcase.

                          THE TARGET
               Fuck you!

                          SWEDE
               Not today.

     BANG.  Swede puts one shot between the Target's eyes, ending
     his life.  Now - Swede takes out a DAI-SHO, the smaller of the
     two traditional Japanese Samurai swords.  With one slashing
     blow he hacks off the Target's HAND AT THE WRIST and grabs
     the briefcase.  The SEVERED HAND is still caught in the
     handcuffs, so that it is carried along for the ride.  Now -
     DISTANT SIRENS sound from OFF SCREEN as Swede moves back
     towards Larry and the Volvo, and as he goes he raises the
     briefcase (with its severed hand) in a kind of mock salute to
     Sam, who starts to move back towards Deirdre and Vincent, who
     have taken care of the remaining Bodyguards, and now the
     SIRENS are growing closer as we - START TO MOVE IN SLOW
     MOTION as Swede approaches the Volvo and - Deirdre and Vincent
     are already at Vincent's Fiat, waiting for Sam, and so they
     don't notice that - A VAN has been parked nearby this entire
     time, and now the van's side door slides open, and unseen by
     any of the others - Gregor steps out of the Van, a gun at his
     side, and a predatory look on his face as - Swede reaches Larry
     and the Volvo just as - Sam has reaches the Fiat, and now he looks
     back and sees - Gregor, crossing the street, and now - Sam
     screams a warning to Larry, but it's way too late because -
     Swede shoots Larry in the neck, hitting him above the
     protective covering of his bullet proof vest.  Now we're
     MOVING IN REAL TIME as - Larry manages to get his backup
     piece drawn, a snub-nosed .38, and he fires all six shots
     into - Swede, hitting him in the stomach -- it's the same way
     Larry shot the target in the warehouse.  Swede is sent flying
     backwards, where he crashes to the pavement.  For a second we
     think he's dead, but then he gets up, in pain but alive, just
     as Sam predicted.  Swede claws at his shirt to reveal that he
     too wears a bullet proof vest.  By now - Larry has rolled out
     of the Volvo, crawling away but too weak to go far, and now -
     Swede has Larry in his sights, he's going to kill him.

                          SWEDE
               I don't particularly like killing, tubby,
               but I want you to know that this one I'm
               going to enjoy.

                          LARRY
                   (sees something over Swede's
                    shoulder)
               I don't think so.

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

                          LARRY
                   (in shock)
               He just...I don't believe that son-of-
               a...

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

                          LARRY
                   (still having trouble believing
                    it)
               We've been crossed...

     The SIRENS reach a crescendo as a group of GENDARMES arrive,
     charging with automatic weapons drawn.  Between the French
     cops and our heroes lies the shot up wreck of the Target Car,
     and now - Sam takes out a GRENADE, pulls the pin, and rolls
     it across the ground, beneath the Mercedes, which the cops
     have just reached.  Seconds later - The Car EXPLODES, cutting
     off the cops, and as this happens, Vincents puts the pedal to
     the floor and gets the fuck out of Dodge.  We start to SLOWLY
     PULL BACK on the remains of this battle: the dead bodies, the
     shot up cars, the broken glass, and that flaming, smoking
     hulk of a Mercedes in the middle of the street.

     DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. THE OLD CITY/NICE - SUNSET

     The FIREBALL of the car turns into a BLOOD RED SUN as it sets
     in the Western sky, tinting the stone buildings of the Old
     City a coppery red.

     We're MOVING THROUGH the Old City, through the twists and
     turns of what an American would call back alleys but that
     pass for streets in this place.  It is quiet almost deserted,
     then - A TESTOSTERONE CRAZED PLAYBOY whips his sports car
     through one of these streets, engine whining, as we - MOVE
     DOWN yet another side street, and this sucker really is a
     back alley, you couldn't get a car down here if you tried.
     Finally, we come to - A RAT TRAP OF AN OLD BUILDING, and we
     PUSH TIGHT on this building as we hear -

                          LARRY (V.O.)
               What is this?

     INT. A BACK APARTMENT - SAME TIME

     A SYRINGE is plunged into Larry's arm.  Sam is tending to
     Larry's wound.  Sam seems to know what he's doing, as Larry
     is also hooked up to a bottle of plasma hanging on a make-
     shift stand.

                          SAM
                   (answering Larry's question)
               It's a cocktail.  Mostly demerol, cut
               with a little crank because we might need
               you awake in the real near future.

                          LARRY
               Fine with fucking me, we got work to do.
               I don't care what it takes, we are
               getting our property back and putting it
               into the hands of the people who are
               gonna pay us a great deal of money when
               we do.  I don't know about the rest of you
               guys, but I'm not the kind of guy
               to just sit back and take it in the ass.
                   (a quick beat)
               I don't mean that in, like, a literal
               way...

                          DEIRDRE
               Of course.

                          VINCENT
               Finding this package is a thing easier
               said than done.  We don't even know what
               it is.
                   (he looks at Deirdre, and
                    suddenly he's deadly earnest)
               What did we steal?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (suddenly defensive)
               I don't know.

                          VINCENT
               When this whole thing started you made it
               clear: you're running the show.  And I
               don't believe you'd be running this show
               if you didn't know what was going on.

                          DEIRDRE
               Well I don't!

                          VINCENT
               And I don't believe you...

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

                          DEIRDRE
                   (suddenly feral) 
               You go shoot me if you want, Vincent, but
               you'll be dead before I hit the ground.

                          VINCENT
                   (matching her intensity)
               I don't want you dead, woman, I want the
               the truth!

                          SAM (O.S.)
                   (with a dead cool in his voice)
               Both of you...

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Sam has the two of them covered with his gun -
     an interesting moment, because he can shoot either Deirdre or
     Vincent, but not both at the same time.  The question is:
     whose side is he on?

                          SAM
                   (continuing without missing a
                    beat)
               ...put your guns down and chill out.

     A BEAT.  And then Vincent and Deirdre lower their weapons,
     followed by Sam.

                          SAM
               Like it or now, we're on the same side:
               we're here and the package isn't.
                   (looks at Deirdre)
               You're not the boss any more, you're our
               partner.  So tell us what you know, so we
               can figure a way out of this mess.

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

                          SAM
               Now, what did we steal?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (she hates to admit this)
               I don't know...
                   (defensively, off Vincent's
                    look)
               Well I don't!  It's a goddamned mystery
               to me just like it is to you.
                   (quick beat, then reluctantly
                    continuing)
               But I do know who we're working for.  My
               people, and the Russian mob.

                          LARRY
               Your people?  Who the fuck is your
               people?

                          VINCENT
               Who do you think, Larry?  The IRA.

                          DEIRDRE
               And you believed me?
                   (passionately)
               But it wasn't my people who did it.

                          LARRY
               How do we know that?

                          SAM
               Because if they had she'd be gone along
               with the package, instead of sitting here
               with us.

                          DEIRDRE
               Exactly.  Gregor, he was the Russian's
               man.  It was my people came up with the
               idea for this run, but the Russians who
               had the capital to finance it.  Gregor,
               he was their insurance, and I was ours.
               Everybody else was supposed to be
               neutral.  Gregor must've got to Swede...

                          LARRY
               I never did trust that blonde fuck...

                          DEIRDRE
               That's why you were riding with him.

                          VINCENT
               The question still remains: what do we do
               now?

                          SAM
                   (he figures something out)
               Gregor's cell phone...

                          LARRY
                   (to himself)
               What are you gonna do, call him up and
               ask him to give us back our shit?

                          SAM
                   (ignoring Larry, to Deirdre)
               Did he bring that with him?

                          DEIRDRE
               I bought it for him -- all the stuff he
               was using, it was in his contract.  Cost
               a nice penny, too, especially that
               goddamned phone: Gregor had expensive
               tastes.

                          SAM
               Check this out.
                   (he's thinking on his feet)
               Gregor's a spook, or he was one until
               recently.  When he was a spy he lived the
               life -- you know, a prince in some
               Eastern Bloc country where nobody had
               shit and Gregor had everything.  Then the
               wall goes down.  No more Cold War.  And
               Gregor is out of a job.  No apartment, no
               special stores with Western food and
               video tapes.  I would bet dollars against
               shit that Gregor liked that phone and he
               doesn't want to give it up.  And I
               wouldn't be surprised if he's arrogant
               enough to think...

                          DEIRDRE
                   (finishing his sentence)
               That we're too stupid to trace his calls.

     Deirdre and Sam share the slightest of conspiratorial smiles
     as they realize they're both thinking the same thought: they
     might still win this one.

     EXT. AIX EN PROVENCE - TWILIGHT

     We're on perhaps the MOST BEAUTIFUL STREET in all of France:
     the Cours Mirabeau in the town of Aix.

     Outdoor cafes line the sides of the street, while a canopy of
     interlocking trees covers everything.  Now we're - MOVING,
     DOWN THE STREET, towards a CAFE, where a DAPPER GENT sits,
     sipping a mineral water.  The Gent has a SATCHEL at his feet.
     Now - A JEEP pulls up to a nearby corner and idles in
     neutral.  The Dapper Gent throws some bills on the table and
     gets up, crossing to - The Jeep.  A door opens, and the
     Dapper Gent, carrying his satchel, gets into the jeep, which
     drives off as we -

     CUT TO:

     INT. JEEP - SAME TIME

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

                          GREGOR
                   (breaking the silence)
               It's a beautiful street, no?

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

                          DAPPER GENT
                   (he can't wait any longer)
               Do you have it?

                          GREGOR
               Always in a rush, you are.  All these
               years I've known you, you could never
               wait for anything.

                          DAPPER GENT
               This is important.

                          GREGOR
               Do you really think so?

                          DAPPER GENT
               You know it is.

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

                          GREGOR
               Relax!

     The Dapper Gent loweres his hand, leaving his gun in his coat.
     Gregor pulls the van to a curb.

                          GREGOR
               Look over there.

     GREGOR & THE GENT'S POV: THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD - A GROUP OF
     CHILDREN are playing.

                          GREGOR (O.S.)
               Do you see that one?  The girl in the
               light blue dress?

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

                          DAPPER GENT
               What are you doing, have you lost your
               mind?!?

     Gregor pulls the trigger, as he does so the Dapper Gent jogs
     his arm, and we hear the soft thwpfft of the silenced shot
     just as the shot goes off - Missing its mark, harmlessly
     shooting into a tree, causing a SINGLE LEAF to float to the
     ground behind the playing children.  Nobody notices a thing.
     BEAT.  The Dapper Gent is visibly shaken, because there is no
     doubt that Gregor would have killed the Girl if the Gent
     hadn't ruined his aim.

                          DAPPER GENT
               Why did you do that?

                          GREGOR
               To make a point.  I don't know her, and I
               was ready to splatter her brains all over
               the sidewalk.
                   (giving the Gent a look)
               I don't particularly like you, so imagine
               what I'll do if you try anything...

     Gregor leaves his gun dangling in the air a moment longer than
     necessary and then starts the jeep as we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. A COUNTRY ROAD OUTSIDE OF AIX - NIGHT

     A FULL MOON casts a silver light over a field of wild grass.
     A soft wind blows, and the grass moves gently from side to
     side.  Now - Gregor's JEEP glides down this road as we MOVE
     THROUGH TO -

     INT. THE JEEP - SAME TIME

                          DAPPER GENT
                   (squirming)
               Enough!  We've been driving for an hour,
               where is my package?

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

                          GREGOR
               It's under your seat.

                          DAPPER GENT
                   (incredulous)
               What?

                          GREGOR
               As my American friend Larry would say:
               are you fucking deaf?  It's under your
               seat.

     The Dapper Gent looks down, and sure enough, the edge of the
     Briefcase sticks out beneath the seat.

                          DAPPER GENT
               I can't believe you'd do that, Gregor.  I
               thought I trained you better than that.

     With a laugh the Dapper Gent hands his satchel to Gregor,
     whose eyes literally dance with the prospect of his reward.
     He can't help himself, he opens the satchel and there it is -
     COLD HARD CASH in large bills, enough for Gregor to live like
     a prince for quite some time.  Gregor sucks in an involuntary
     breath and then looks back up to see - The Dapper Gent hasn't
     reached for the Briefcase.  Instead he's taken out his gun,
     and it's only inches from Gregor's head.

                          DAPPER GENT
               I've never particularly liked you either,
               Gregor.

     The Dapper Gent yanks out the Briefcase, and as he does -

     THE SEVERED HAND comes whipping out along with it, still
     attached by the handcuff chain.  The Hand flies up in the
     Dapper Gent's face, and we notice that the Hand is starting
     to rot -- it's bloated and swelling and horrific and it
     scares the shit out of the Dapper Gent, who drops his gun and
     fumbles with the Briefcase as - THWPFFT...we hear the sound
     of another silenced shot as we -

     SMASH CUT TO:

     EXT. OUTSIDE THE JEEP - SAME TIME

     A DARK STAIN splashes against the passenger side window of
     the jeep.  Seconds later - The door swings open, and the
     Dapper Gent's body plunks out onto the ground.  A moment
     later, something wet and viscous plops down on the face of
     the Gent as the jeep drives off.  Now - We HOLD FOR A BEAT on
     the Dapper Gent's dead body, which lies in the silver
     moonlight, blood running out from beneath him, while the
     Severed Hand palms the Gent's face, fingers splayed out
     around his head.  Now - We HEAR the sound of PHONE TONES.
     And not just any phone...

     INT. THE JEEP - SAME TIME

     Gregor finishes punching a number into his CELL PHONE.  We
     hear a single ring on the other end of the phone before it is
     picked up.

                          PHONE VOICE (V.O.)
                   (in Russian, English subtitles)
               Is it done?

                          GREGOR
                   (in English)
               It's done.

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

                          PHONE VOICE (V.O.)
               Gregor, is that you?

                          GREGOR
                   (with a low chuckle)
               Much to your disappointment, no doubt.

                          PHONE VOICE (V.O.)
               It was a mistake, it shouldn't have
               happened.

                          GREGOR
                   (suddenly cold, furious)
               I'm in the middle of saving you people a
               great deal of money -- the least you
               could do is have the decency to pay me!

     BEAT.

                          PHONE VOICE (V.O.)
               So what do we do?

                          GREGOR
               What I do is none of your concern.  What
               you should do is wait for my next phone
               call.  I'm going to find a place where I
               can tilt the field in my favor.  When I'm
               ready, I'll call you and tell you what I
               want you to do.

     The Phone Voice says something unintelligible in Russian, cut
     off by Gregor as he angrily snaps off his cell phone and we -

     CUT TO:

     INT. THE CHEAP APARTMENT - DAWN

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

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

     INT. THE LANDING OUTSIDE - SAME TIME

     This is a small building.  There is no other apartment on
     the floor.  At the far end of the landing, there is a small
     ladder which leads up to -

     THE ROOF.  And the door which leads to the roof is flapping
     in a light wind.

     EXT. THE ROOF - SAME TIME

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

                          SAM
               What's going on?

                          VINCENT
               You weren't around when I woke up, I
               thought maybe something had happened.
                   (off Sam's look)
               This has been one very fucked up job,
               Sam, and I'm not taking any more chances
               on anybody...
                   (a quick beat)
               Including you...

     In answer Sam takes out Vincent's pack of cigarettes and
     tosses them back to him.  Vincent looks almost delighted at
     this.

                          SAM
               I came up here to sneak a smoke.

                          VINCENT
               You were smoking?

                          SAM
               I hope you don't mind I took your pack.
               It was on the table.

                          VINCENT
                   (very sincere, offering the
                    pack)
               Please, help yourself.  Smoke as many
               you'd like.

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

                          SAM
                   (a shrug of the shoulders)
               I borrowed that, too...

                          VINCENT
                   (puffing contentedly)
               Of course...whenever you feel like it
               just help yourself.

                          SAM
               I have a feeling I'm about to start
               buying my own.

     BEAT.  The two men smoke in silence, looking out at -

     THE CURVED SHORELINE OF NICE -

     Which glitters with thousands of lights from the apartment
     buildings, and a thousand more from the cars that travel on
     the road that leads into town: the Promenade des Anglais.

                          VINCENT (O.S.)
               That was a bad bit of business, today.

     BACK ON Sam and Vincent.

                          SAM
               It was at that.

                          VINCENT
               A lot of people died.

                          SAM
               I've seen a lot of people die before.

                          VINCENT
               I haven't.  Not like that.  How do you
               get used to it?

                          SAM
               You don't.  You just learn to live with
               it.

                          VINCENT
               I won't lie -- there have been times when
               I had to do it, times when the only way
               to get out alive was to see that the
               other man didn't.

                          SAM
               We live in a singular world, my friend.

                          VINCENT
               I never really thought I was part of the
               world you move in, Sam, to tell you the
               truth.
                   (off his look)
               I'm a hood, a thief.  Big time in a small
               time king of way.  To the local police
               I'm a prize, to the local hoods I'm a
               legend.  But to a guy like you I'm just
               another two bit hired gun.

                          SAM
               You might be a hired gun, Vincent, but I
               got a feeling you cost more than two
               bits.

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

                          DEIRDRE
               Christ, I was starting to think that the
               two of you had thrown it in and walked
               away.
                   (to Vincent)
               There's someone on the phone downstairs
               asking for you, and my somewhat limited
               French leads me to believe that he might
               have something to tell us about Gregor.

     EXT. THE HIGHWAY - LATER - NIGHT

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

                          LARRY (V.O.)
               I'm telling you...

     INT. THE CITROEN - SAME TIME

                          LARRY
                   (continuing)
               That I could be dead and I'd drive better
               than you.

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

                          DEIRDRE
                   (very curt)
               Oh shut up...

     IN THE BACK SEAT -

     Sam and Vincent have a MAP spread out.  Vincent is tracing
     Gregor's route so far, and we follow his RED MAGIC MARKER as
     it traces a line up the highway.

                          VINCENT
               He's going north.
                   (circles something on map)
               That's Aix en Provence, where he used the
               phone.

     Sam runs his finger along the length of the highway on the
     map.  Destination: Paris.

                          SAM
                   (making up his mind)
               He's going back.

                          VINCENT
               Not necessarily.  He could go off road at
               any number of places.  He might not even
               be in the country anymore.

                          SAM
               It's Paris.  The route's too indirect for
               anything else.  A guy like Gregor, he
               doesn't waste time on this road unless he
               has to be on it in the first place.
               Otherwise, he'd be out of the country by
               now.  He's going to Paris.
                   (beat)
               Now I just hope we can find him before he
               gets there.

                          DEIRDRE
               If somebody else doesn't find him first.

     EXT. THE TOWN OF ORANGE - DAY

     Orange, pronounced "Au-Ronge", is a mid-sized town of fifty
     thousand souls.  It is small, charming, quaint, and it has
     one particular thing that no other town in France can claim -

     AN ANCIENT ROMAN THEATER that has been painstakingly
     restored.  We see this Roman Theater from the outside, as we
     MOVE THROUGH the streets of the town, to the TOWN SQUARE.
     It's packed -- every seat in every outdoor cafe is filled
     with a tourist having breakfast.  This normally quiet place
     explodes one month out of the year, when an internationally
     famous music festival is held in the Roman Theater.  We come
     upon -

     A TABLE OF AMERICAN TOURISTS: a Family.  Dad is angry at Mom.

                          DAD
               Opera?  This is an opera festival?

                          MOM
               I told you that, Henry.

                          DAD
               I thought you meant Phantom of the Opera.
               You know, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Cats, that
               kind of thing.

     Mom and Dad continue their discussion, but we've left them
     behind, MOVING THROUGH the seats and cafes until we get to a
     cafe on the outskirts of the Town Square.  Here, in the most
     removed table in the entire Square, we find Gregor sitting in
     the shadow of the trellis.  Unless you're on top of him you
     can't see him, but he can see everything perfectly.  His cell
     phone sits on the table in front of him -- he picks it up and
     starts to punch in a number.

     CUT TO:

     EXT. A REST STOP ON THE HIGHWAY - MEANWHILE

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

     In fact, everything that's on this table is so far beyond the
     imagination of your average American truck driver that Larry
     can't contain himself.  He's stuffing himself, washing
     everything down with the wine which is also sold at these
     road-side rest stops.  Deirdre drinks coffee.

                          LARRY
                   (mouth full)
               This...this is incredible. Is the rest
               of Europe like this?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (with a laugh)
               Some places, not all.  Italy, for
               instance, they're serious about their
               food.  But try bloody Britain, anywhere
               in the U.K., you don't get much fancier
               than a deep-fried bar egg.  Food's not
               our thing, you see.

                          LARRY
               What is?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (everybody knows this)
               Best beer in the world known to man or
               God.

                          LARRY
                   (with a snort)
               Best beer in the world?  Budweiser for
               me, thanks.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (with unconcealed scorn)
               Budweiser?  You talk to me of beer and
               you've the unbridled gall to mention
               Budweiser in the same sentence?  That's
               not beer!  Christ, it's not even a poor
               excuse for rabbit piss.

                          LARRY
               Oh yeah?  Whatta you drink, then?

                          DEIRDRE
               I drink what every civilized man, woman
               and child in the world drinks: Guinness.

                          VINCENT (O.S.)
               I hate to interrupt a conversation of
               such cultural depth...

     CUT AWAY TO REVEAL: Vincent -

     Who has finished his phone call and returned to join them.

                          VINCENT
               ...but we've got to get back on the road.

     Vincent raps lightly on the car window next to Sam's head --
     Sam's eyes shoot open: a light sleeper.  All eyes are on
     Vincent, who waits for a BEAT before he reveals his news.

                          VINCENT
               We've got him.

                          LARRY
               I'm driving.

     EXT. THE TOWN SQUARE - A LITTLE LATER - DAY

     Gregor is seated where we saw him last -- at the little table
     in the corner cafe.  He's been here for hours, observing the
     Town Square, and now, he finally sees what he's been looking
     for - TWO MEN, definitely not tourists here for the music,
     have entered the Square -- everything about these guys
     screams GUNMEN.  Now, as Gregor watches - A PUNKED-OUT TEEN
     comes up to the men and hands them a small envelope.  The
     Gunmen look around the Square, trying to see where Gregor is,
     but he's too far back in the shadows.  The Gunmen ask the
     Teen a question, to which the Teen can only shrug his
     shoulders.  Now - The Teen walks away, leaving the Gunmen to
     open the envelope and look at its contents, which are quickly
     read.  From OFF SCREEN we hear the sound of Gregor punching
     in a number on his cell phone.  Simultaneously, the Gunmen
     finish reading the instructions Gregor has sent them, and
     turn around to face - A PAY PHONE.  The phone rings, and one
     of the Gunmen goes to pick it up.

     EXT. ANOTHER STREET - MEANWHILE

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

     INT. THE CITROEN - SAME TIME

     Vincent stares out of the window and sees something that
     causes him to swear under his breath in French.  It's -

     The Gunmen walking down the street.

                          VINCENT
               I know those men.

     Sam frowns: he also seems to recognize at least one of the
     gunmen.  None of the others in the car notice Sam's reaction,
     but we do.  The Gunmen are heading straight for -

     EXT. THE ANCIENT ROMAN THEATER - MEANWHILE

     THE MID-AFTERNOON SUN shines down on the open air Roman
     Theater.  The theater itself is almost two thousand year
     old.  A semi-circle of seats surrounds a huge Stage Wall, a
     massive structure which is one of the best preserved of its
     kind in the world.  THE GUNMEN enter at the bottom of the
     theater, holding ticket stubs.  They are with a Tour Group
     led by an ANCIENT GEEZER who speaks in rapid-fire French.  As
     the tour moves off to see the Stage Wall, the Gunmen hang
     back and then separate from the crowd.

     EXT. OUTSIDE THE THEATER - SAME TIME

     THE CITROEN sits at a curb.  Larry sits behind the wheel of
     the car, the getaway driver with the motor running.  Vincent
     and Deirdre are already walking towards the Theater.  Sam
     stays behind for a second to say something to Larry.

                          SAM
               Whatever you hear, whatever happens, when
               your partners come back out, you make
               sure you're here with the motor running.

     And on that note Sam follows after Vincent and Deirdre.
     Larry doesn't notice it, but - THE WATCHER has found them.
     He's a block or so away, wearing a two-day stubble of beard
     and hugging the shadows of back alley.  Cradled in one hand,
     barely visible but ominously present: his knife, which for
     one moment catches a glint of sun that hits our eyes as we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. INSIDE THE ROMAN THEATER - MEANWHILE

     The Gunmen have reached a point about midway up the coliseum-
     like staircase.  Behind them we can see the Tour Group,
     standing on the stage, being lectured to by the Ancient
     Geezer.  In front of them the Gunmen find -

     AN EXIT which leads to an interior hall.  Inside the exit
     it's dark, while a bright sun falls down on the Gunmen.  They
     look into the dark, unable to see a thing, while a voice
     come at them from out of the dark.

                          GREGOR (V.O.)
               Thank you, gentleman, that will do
               nicely.

     IN THE HALL -

     ON GREGOR.  It's dark in here.  There are no lights, no
     torches.  From the dark in here, he can look out and see -
     THE GUNMEN, who make plain targets, backlit as they are by
     the sun.  Now we CUT BACK AND FORTH between these two ANGLES,
     and it becomes clear that Gregor has chosen wisely -- he can
     see his quarry, but they can't see him.

                          GREGOR
               Edvard, is that you?

     EDVARD, the more dangerous looking of the two Gunmen
     responds.

                          EDVARD
               Yes, Gregor, they sent me.

                          GREGOR
               I'm touched, really, that they'd send
               someone of your caliber.  It's nice to
               know that they didn't make the mistake of
               underestimating me twice.

                          EDVARD
               That was a mistake, trying to kill you.
               Mikhi did it without consulting me, I'd
               have never allowed it.

                          GREGOR
               I'm sure.  But I'm sorry to say that it's
               too late for trust: we have a serious
               problem.

                               EDVARD
               We'll double your price.

                          GREGOR
                   (now that's interesting)
               Really?  Do you have the money with you?

                          EDVARD
               Do you have the material?

                          GREGOR
               You first, Edvard.

                          EDVARD
               Perhaps we could both go at the same
               time...

                          GREGOR
                   (a short laugh)
               I think not.
                   (with a flourish)
               After you...

     A GUN COMES INTO FRAME, trigger cocked, the barrel placed to
     Gregor's temple.

                          SAM (O.S.)
               After you, asshole.

     Gregor stiffens, as we PULL BACK ON Sam, who has snuck up on
     Gregor and gotten the drop on him.

                          SAM
               You might have been one mean technical
               spook, Gregor, but you wouldn't have
               lasted a week in the field.

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

                          EDVARD
               Gregor, are you alright?

                          DEIRDRE (O.S.)
               Gregor's fine...

     CUT AWAY TO REVEAL: Deirdre -

     She's snuck up on the Gunmen, weapon drawn.

                          DEIDRE
                   (continuing)
               ...but I think you're in a bit of
               trouble.

     The Gunmen reach for their pieces and as they do -

                          VINCENT (O.S.)
               Don't even think it.

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

     THE TUNNEL -

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

                          SAM
               Don't talk to me unless you tell me what
               I want to hear, understand?!?  You have
               no choice in this, don't think about
               winning, think about staying alive.  I
               want the item, and if you don't give it
               to me, I'm gonna kill you.

                          GREGOR
                   (a panicky hiss)
               I don't have it with me...

                          SAM
               Bullshit!

                          GREGOR
               I swear...

                          SAM
               Then where is it?

                          GREGOR
               I sent it to myself in Paris.

                          SAM
               Sent it where?

                          GREGOR
               A post office box.

     Suddenly Gregor runs forward, towards the exit.  Sam runs
     after him, tackling him just as they reach - THE OUTSIDE,
     where the two men roll into plain sight of - The Gunmen, who
     are still covered by Vincent and Deirdre.  Now we notice -
     That the Ancient Geezer and his Tour Group are really close,
     no more than ten yards away, as - Sam has Gregor pinned face
     first on the ancient stone of the theater.  He looks up at
     the others, and that's when it happens - Edvard looks at Sam
     and recognizes him.

                          EDVARD
                   (stunned, announcing to the
                    group)
               Do you know who he is?  He's with
               Interpol, the Internation Police.  He's
               a cop.

     A SLOW MOTION BEAT.

     Vincent and Deirdre don't know what to make of this, their
     heads turn to look at Sam, and in this instant - The Tour
     Group walks into their midst and - The 2nd Gunman reaches for
     his piece and - Sam FIRES his gun at the 2nd Gunman, and with
     the sharp report of the pistol we move back to REAL TIME, as -
     The Crowd panics, screaming, and now Edvard is reaching for
     his weapon, as - Sam shoots again, killing the 2nd Gunman,
     and now - The Crowd is still screaming and running as -
     Gregor shoves through the crowd into the exit, as -

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

     OUTSIDE THE THEATER -

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

     INTO THE THEATER -

     Edvard tries to get to the exit, but there are too many
     Tourists in his way, and he proceeds to shoot several of
     them, including the Dad we saw earlier.  Seconds later,
     Edvard has vanished into the tunnels, and now - Vincent and
     Sam meet in the middle of the crowd.  There is time for a
     QUICK BEAT, while Vincent glares at Sam.

                          VINCENT
               You're a cop...you're a fucking cop...I
               should kill you.

                          SAM
               But you can't.

     And now Sam runs into the tunnel, after the others, leaving
     Vincent for a fraction of a second to sigh, and then follow
     Sam into -

     THE TUNNELS -

     It's like being in the tunnels and ramps of a sporting arena.
     Except that everything here is made of stone and the only
     light comes from the sun which streams in through the exit
     openings which are spaced far enough apart that they provide
     just barely enough light for us to see.  Now we do a SERIES
     OF QUICK CUTS - Sam running, followed by - Vincent, while -
     Edvard takes a wrong turn down a dark hall and comes to a
     dead end.  He turns around, looking for a way out as - Gregor
     sees the final exit ahead of him as we go -

     OUT IN THE STREET - Larry is still behind the wheel of the
     Citroen, anxiously looking at the exit, not realizing that -
     The Watches is almost on him, and now we're back -

     IN THE TUNNELS -

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

     OUT IN THE STREET -

     Gregor hits the street running.  He doesn't notice the
     Citroen parked ahead, because he's never seen it before, but
     as he runs by -

     The car door swings open and Gregor runs straight into it.
     He smashes into the door and falls to the ground, injured.
     Strong Hands reach out of the car and pull him in.  It's the
     Watcher, and let's give him a name now because he needs one:
     SEAMUS REILLY.  Seated in the front seat is - A very dead
     Larry.  Seamus has cut his throat from ear to ear.

                          SEAMUS
                   (to Gregor, with an Irish
                    accent)
               If you want to live you'll do exactly as
               I tell you.

     THROUGH THE BACK WINDOW - Deirdre appears, exiting the
     theater and running towards the Citroen as we go back to -

     INT. THE TUNNELS - SAME TIME

     Vincent, gun drawn, moves warily down one of the tunnels.
     Outside we can hear the dim sound of an approaching siren.
     Vincent turns a corner and - A GUN jams itself into his face.
     It's Edvard.

                          EDVARD
               Where do I know you from?

                          VINCENT
               Vienna.

                          EDVARD
               Of course...I remember.  I quite liked
               you, I'm sorry to have to do this.

     Edvard's finger tightens around the trigger, when -

                          SAM (O.S.)
               Hey...

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

     EXT. OUTSIDE THE THEATER - MEANWHILE

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

                          DEIRDRE
               Cold cocking the poor son-of-a-bitch
               would have sufficed, Seamus, don't you
               think?

     SCANT SECOND LATER -

     Larry's body hits the street as the Citroen drives off,
     Deirdre behind the wheel just as - Sam and Vincent run out of
     the theater, with Vincent helping a wounded Sam who bleeds
     from the wound in his side.  They arrive at the street only
     to see - Larry, lying dead in the street, even as the Citroen
     speeds away from them, turning the corner before they can
     even think to raise their guns.

                          VINCENT
               That double-crossing bitch.

     Sam isn't even capable of saying that much -- he just stares
     after the departed Citroen with a look on his face unlike any
     we've seen in the film: "how the hell did that happen?"  But
     there's no time to ponder this because they've been joined by
     - A COP.  He's a local guy, he directs traffic and busts
     drunks in the town square -- and he's scared shitless,
     holding his gun in both hands, trying not to tremble, as he
     stares back at - TWO GUNS, Sam's and Vincent's, and they're
     both pointed at the Cop.  LONG BEAT.  In the way off distance,
     another siren can just be heard.  Sam and Vincent glare at
     the Cop, who strains with all his might to control himself,
     but he can't because Sam and Vincent are death waiting to be
     served.  The cop knows he has three seconds to make up his
     mind.  Two.  One.  The Cop puts his gun on the ground and
     steps back, raising his hands in the air.  Now - Sam and
     Vincent stumble into the street, and are instantly almost hit
     by - A CAR speeding around the corner, its Driver oblivious
     to what's going on.  The car screeches to a halt, and the
     Driver curses loudly in French.  And then the next thing the
     Driver knows - A Gun is in his face.  The door is yanked open
     and the Driver is yanked out, as we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. A BACK ROAD - LATER/EARLY EVENING

     The town of Orange is just visible below us as the
     commandeered Car drives up into the hills.  Vincent is behind
     the wheel, while the wounded Sam sits in the passenger seat.
     Gritting his teeth, Sam peels back his shirt to get a look at
     - THE WOUND, and it's small but bad -- the ricochet ripped a
     small raw hole in Sam's side.  The wound bleeds, but
     moderately so -- no major organs or arteries have been hit.

                          VINCENT
               That makes twice now you've saved my
               life.

                          SAM
               I didn't save your life back there.
               Risked it, maybe -- but I didn't save
               shit.

                          VINCENT
               You see it your way, I'll see it mine.
               You need a doctor.

                          SAM
                   (hopeful)
               You know one around here?  Somebody you
               trust?

                          VINCENT
               No...I thought I'd take you to the
               hospital.

                          SAM
                   (sharply)
               No hospitals.  I'll fix this myself if I
               have to.

                          VINCENT
                   (he can't believe this)
               Fix it yourself?
                   (a thought comes to him)
               Why are we even doing this?  There's no
               need to run, Christ...
                   (he can't disguise his disgust)
               You're a cop.

                          SAM
               Not exactly.

                          VINCENT
               You're with Interpol -- you're a cop.

                          SAM
               If I was a cop, a real cop, I'd have
               busted you a long time ago.  This isn't
               about you, it's about the job I have to
               do.

                          VINCENT
               And what job is that?

                          SAM
               My job, Vincent, a job you don't need to
               know about.  I can't go to the local cops
               -- they'd never be able to get close
               enough at this point.  It's me or nobody,
               and I've been on this job too goddamned
               long not to finish.

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

                          VINCENT
               It looks to me like we're all that's left
               of our group.

                          SAM
               We?  There is no we in my world now,
               Vincent, just me.

                          VINCENT
               I'm going with you.

                          SAM
               This doesn't involve you, don't you
               understand?  I can't even guarantee you
               any money out of all this.

                          VINCENT
               It isn't about money for me, not
               anymore.

                          SAM
               You don't have to do this.

                          VINCENT
                   (with great finality)
               Yes I do.

     Sam gives Vincent a look and shakes his head in disbelief --
     Vincent's loyalty and sense of honor is something he's never
     seen before, and Sam can only smoke in silence and consider
     this as we -

     CUT TO:

     INT. A CHEAP BACK ROOM - NIGHT

     A PEEPHOLE slides open, and we look through it into -

     INT. AN ADJOINING ROOM

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

                          DEIRDRE
               When we're done with this, I want to do
               for that one myself.

                          SEAMUS
               Now there's the Deirdre I know.

                          DEIRDRE
               And what's that supposed to mean, Seamus
               Reilly?

                          SEAMUS
               It means I was worried that all the time
               you spent away from the fold might have
               affected you.  You've been living the
               life of the hired gun -- the well paid
               hired gun, I might note.  There's no
               glory to it, but there are those that
               like it.

                          DEIRDRE
               So you thought that maybe I'd grown too
               attached to this charade I've been
               playing, is that it?

                          SEAMUS
               It's been known to happen.

                          DEIRDRE
               Not to me, you know that.

                          SEAMUS
                   (goading her)
               I thought I did.

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

                          DEIRDRE
               I guess you don't know me, then, if you
               think I won't kill you for an insult like
               that!

     Seamus glares at Deirdre for a moment, and she glares back at
     him until he starts to laugh.

                          SEAMUS
               Just testing, lass.  Forgive me, but I
               had to do it.

     Deirdre glares a moment more and then puts away her gun.

                          DEIRDRE
               Remember what we agreed on, Seamus: when
               we get home, I don't play "the girl"
               again.

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

     CUT TO:

     EXT. A FARMHOUSE - THE COUNTRY - NIGHT

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

                          VINCENT
               Hello, Jean-Pierre.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Hello, my friend.
                   (with a look at Sam)
               He doesn't look French to me, Vincent.

                          SAM
               American.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Well, Vincent's American friend, shall we
               see what we can do for you?

     INT. THE FARMHOUSE KITCHEN - LATER/NIGHT

     SURGICAL IMPLEMENTS - Are laid out on a clean cloth.
     Scalpel, forceps, a clamp, a sponge, medical thread and
     needles.  We PULL BACK TO REVEAL: Sam, stretched out on the
     kitchen table.  Around him we see - Vincent and Jean-Pierre,
     who are wearing rubber gloves and examining Sam's wound.
     Jean-Pierre holds a mirror up so that Sam can see what's
     going on.  Sam, with his medical training, is treating
     himself.

                          VINCENT
                   (to Sam)
               It's right there, beneath the surface.  I
               can just make it out.

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

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Are you sure you won't have a drink?

                          SAM
                   (sharply)
               No booze...Pain's in the mind, and the
               mind I can control.
                   (quick beat)
               Alright, let's do it.

     During this next sequence, we CUT BACK AND FORTH between
     Sam's reactions to the surgery, and the mirror itself where
     he's watching.

                          SAM
               Douse the wound with alcohol.

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

                          SAM
                   (to Jean-Pierre)
               Take that sponge and wipe away as much of
               the blood as you can, keep it clean so I
               can see.

     Jean-Pierre does as Sam says, wiping away the blood that
     keeps filling the wound.  Throughout the procedure Jean-
     Pierre will do this; every time the sponge is saturated he
     squeezes the excess blood into - A BUCKET which sits on the
     floor, slowly filling up with drippings from the sponge.

                          SAM
                   (to Vincent)
               Take the clamp...

     Vincent picks up the clamp.

                          SAM
               Peel back the skin and attach the clamp.

     Vincent attaches the clamp to Sam's wound.  It takes perhaps
     fifteen seconds, and everyone of those seconds is agonizing
     for Sam.  He sweats, he grits his teeth, he grunts the
     smallest of grunts.  But he doesn't move.  Finally Vincent is
     done.

                          VINCENT
               Alright, it's done.

                          SAM
               You see the bullet?

                          VINCENT
               Clearly.

                          SAM
               Good.  Now take the forceps, and
               remember, Vincent, what we're doing here
               is routine.  I've done stuff like this at
               least twenty times in the field.  There
               are no vital organs where you're working,
               no major muscles or arteries -- you can't
               kill me.  Just make sure you've got the
               bullet before you try to pull it out.

     Vincent probes the wound with the forceps.  This takes
     probably thirty seconds, and it hurts even more then when the
     clamp was attached.

     Several times - Vincent seems to have the bullet in his
     grasp, but it slips, and each time it slips - Sam makes the
     smallest of noises, as if to indicate the level of the pain.
     Finally - The forceps firmly grasp the bullet, and with a
     single tug, Vincent extracts it.

                          VINCENT
                   (holding the bullet aloft)
               A souvenir...

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

                          SAM
                   (to Vincent)
               You think you can stitch me up on you
               own?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Don't worry, we'll take care of it.

                          SAM
               Then if you don't mind...
                   (he hands the cigarette back to
                    Vincent)
               I'm gonna pass out.

     And that's exactly what he does.

     A TIME CUT TO:

     INT. FARMHOUSE LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT NIGHT

     Vincent and Jean-Pierre sit on easy chairs.  An open bottle
     of wine sits between them, a FIRE burns in the fireplace, and
     they smoke in a contented silence for a moment.  When they
     speak, it is in FRENCH, with ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               He's tough, your American friend.

                          VINCENT
               Yes, Sam's tough alright.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               And you respect him.

                          VINCENT
               Of course.  Don't you?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               I've never seen a man who could have
               taken what he just went through.
                   (beat)
               He's a cop?

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

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Not exactly?  But close enough, eh?
                   (beat)
               So he saved your life, then?

                          VINCENT
               How did you know?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               If he hadn't you'd have put a bullet in
               his head a long time ago.

     Both men stare back into the fireplace and we HOLD FOR A BEAT
     before we -

     DISSOLVE TO:

     INT. THE FARM - KITCHEN - DAWN

     Sam is awake.  Pale from the loss of blood, he moves softly
     around the kitchen, searching professionally for something,
     giving the moment a slightly dangerous feel because he seems
     so intent on what he's doing and then he finds it - THE
     COFFEE.

     TEN MINUTES LATER -

     A stream of Hot Coffee migles with a stream of Steamed Milk.

     EXT. THE FARMHOUSE PORCH - SUNRISE

     A STEAMING CUT OF COFFEE sits in Sam's hands as he lights a
     cigarette to go with the coffee.  He sits on an ancient
     chair, smoking in silence, looking out at - THE WOODS around
     the house, and this place is postcard-beautiful, the French
     Farmhouse you see only in pictures.  But Sam's mind is
     elsewhere, he's staring into space, lost in thought.

                          JEAN-PIERRE (O.S.)
               You're feeling better?

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Jean-Pierre stands in the open front door of
     the farmhouse, with a cup of coffee.  Now, Jean-Pierre moves
     out to join Sam, sitting down on another chair opposite him.

                          SAM
                   (responding to the question)
               Some, thanks.  Enough to move on, for
               now.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
                   (pointing at Sam's wounded
                    side)
               You should really let a doctor look at
               that.

                          SAM
               Soon.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               But first you have something to take care
               of?

                          SAM
               Yeah.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Something important?  A thing that cannot
               wait?

                          SAM
               It gets done now or not at all.  Another
               couple of days and the parties concerned are
               gone where I can't get them.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Forgive my intrusion into your affairs,
               but I am the one who connected Vincent to
               this job, his agent, if you will.  He is
               one of my oldest friends and I owe him a
               great debt, much like the debt I suspect
               he owes you.

     A QUICK CUT TO:

     INSIDE THE FARMHOUSE

     Where Vincent has just poured himself a cup of coffee and lit
     a very satisfying cigarette when he hears the voices from
     outside.

                          SAM (O.S.)
               Vincent doesn't owe me a thing.

     Vincent looks up when he hears his name and he moves towards
     the sound of the voices.

                          JEAN-PIERRE (O.S.)
               He sees this differently, as you well
               know.

                          SAM (O.S.)
               I didn't expect that he would.

     BACK ON THE PORCH -

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               You suffered through an agonizing pain
               last night, pain you could have avoided
               by declaring yourself an agent of the
               law.

                          SAM
               Vincent told you that I'm a cop?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Not a word.  But no ordinary criminal
               would have the extensive military and
               medical expertise you do.  And so I place
               the pieces of the puzzle together in a
               way that makes sense to me.  You work for
               some government agency and you carry a
               gun, and in my world, that makes you a
               cop.

     And now Jean-Pierre produces a LONG BARRELED REVOLVER which
     he places loosely in his lap -- a gesture which seems to say,
     "you'd better explain things to my satifaction or we're
     gonna have a problem."  Sam notices the weapon, but he
     doesn't react overtly.

                          SAM
               So this is what, a test?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Call it a reckoning of character.

     BEAT.  Sam looks at the Revolver again.

                          SAM
               If I was healthy, I could take that away
               from you.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Perhaps.  But you are not healthy, and if
               you try I'll kill you.

     QUICK CUT TO: Vincent - Who stands inside the house, out of
     sight, but not out of ear shot.  He's listening to
     everything, and we notice that Vincent has taken out his
     own gun.

     BACK ON Jean-Pierre and Sam.  By now Jean-Pierre has raised
     the pistol.  He doesn't point it at Sam, but his finger cocks
     the hammer.

                          SAM
               So what is it you want to know?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               I suppose I want to know how a man like
               you is created.

                          SAM
               Created?

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Perhaps forged is a better word.  Like
               steel.  Like a sword.  You're a modern
               Samurai.  I've spent my life around
               extraordinary men -- men like Vincent.
               But I've never seen anyone like you.
                   (beat)
               I'm afraid Vincent will die if he goes
               with you.

                          SAM
               Vincent's life is his own burden; he'll
               have to carry it for himself.  And I'm
               not any kind of Samurai.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               You seem one to me.

                          SAM
               A Samurai has honor, a Samurai live by
               the code of Bushido, the way of the
               warrior.  I'm just a killer for hire.
                   (beat)
               The world isn't about honor, anymore.
               It's about survival.

     LONG BEAT.  Something in Sam's speech touches Jean-Pierre.
     He relaxes his finger on the hammer.

                          JEAN-PIERRE
               Survival.  I suppose that's as good a
               cause as any.

     BACK ON Vincent - Who relaxes his grip on his gun. BACK ON
     Sam and Jean-Pierre - And we're PULLING BACK, AWAY from the
     Farmhouse, which glows in the morning sun as we -

     DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. A PARIS STREET - DAY

     A BLACK COMPACT CAR sits in front of a Parisian Post Office.
     Inside the car, behind the wheel, we see Deirdre.  Now,
     coming out of the Post Office, we see - Gregor and Seamus
     Reilly.  Seamus has a coat slung over his arm, hiding the gun
     which he keeps pressed to Gregor's side.  There's no sign of
     the Briefcase as Seamus and Gregor get into -

     INT. THE CAR - SAM TIME

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

                          DEIRDRE
               Where's the case?

                          GREGOR
                   (nervous)
               There's a problem...

                          SEAMUS
                   (jumping all over him)
               Problem my ass!  I think you're lying to
               me, and if you are you're a dead man!

                          DEIRDRE
               Would somebody tell me what fucking well
               happened in there?

                          SEAMUS
                   (disgusted)
               Nothing.

                          GREGOR
                   (eager to explain)
               The package didn't come.  I'm sure it
               will tomorrow.

     Suddenly Seamus seems to lose it.  He grabs Gregor and slams
     a gun against his head.

                          SEAMUS
                   (he's almost foaming at the
                    mouth)
               If you're lying to me you poor excuse for
               a human being, I'm gonna blow your brains
               all over this car.

                          GREGOR
                   (beyond desperate)
               I swear, it has to come here!  It has
               to...

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

                          SEAMUS
               Ease up, man...I'm just checking to make
               sure you're on the level.

     Gregor is beyond speech -- he can only whimper.

                          SEAMUS
               And it seems to me I saw a sign in there
               that says they got a late afternoon
               delivery.  Why don't we come back later
               today and do this all over again, huh?

     Seamus smiles a smile that is more than a little bit
     sadistic.  Neither Gregor nor Deirdre smiles in return as we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. ANOTHER STREET - PARIS - DAY

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

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

     INT. THE STORE - SAME TIME

     TONY SIMON, an expatriate black American, runs this place and
     lives above it.  His shelves are lined with action films made
     in the Far East.  Tony knows everything there is to know
     about the films he sells -- but he also knows quite a bit
     about what's going on in the Parisian Underworld.  he's a
     professional information broker.  Right now he's talking to a
     CUSTOMER in perfect French, with English Subtitles.

                          TONY
               Hey, man, they're both great movies.  One
               is more of a character study, the other
               is more of a straight action thing, but
               they're great movies, and he's an amazing
               fucking filmmaker.

     Tony looks up and sees something that catches his attention.

                          TONY
               Excuse me...

     Vincent and Sam have entered the store.  Sam's ability to be
     back on his feet in such a short time is amazing -- but we
     can see that he's not the same guy he was at the start of the
     film.  what he does from here on in he does by sheer force of
     will.  Now - Tony moves to join them, and the conversation
     immediately turns to English.

                          TONY
                   (to Vincent)
               My man, how you doing?

                          VINCENT
               I'm alright.  And you?

                          TONY
               Doing well.
                   (with a look at Sam)
               This is?

                          VINCENT
               A friend.  I was telling him about how
               you always have the latest tapes.

                          TONY
               Why don't we step into my office...

     Tony's office, it turns out, is the area behind the COUNTER.
     Tony raises a section of the counter that allows him to get
     to the other side, and then he closes it behind him.

                          TONY
               So what can I do for you?

     Vincent checks out the store before he starts speaking.  The
     place is empty except for - The single Customer Tony was just
     talking to.  The Customer is still considering the two films
     Tony was showing him.

                          VINCENT
               I was wondering if you had any movies
               that were particularly new.

                          TONY
               Matter of face there's this flick I've
               been hearing about.  I haven't seen it,
               but from what I hear it's pretty cool.

                          SAM
               What's the story?

                          TONY
               It's an international thing.  Several
               different peoples involved, criminals
               from all over the world, experts brought
               together to do a job.  But maybe the most
               interesting thing about it is that
               preeminent in the plot we find the
               Russian Mob and the IRA in bed together.
               An unlikely group of partners.

                          VINCENT
               Do you have the tape?

                          TONY
               I might know where you could get a copy.

     The Customer approaches the counter.  He has both tapes with
     him.

                          TONY
                   (to Vincent and Sam)
               Let me do some business with my boy here,
               and I'll meet you across the street in
               five.  I gotta make homes here feel like
               he's getting a good deal while I give him
               the pleasure of overpaying me for a
               couple of second generation pirates.

     EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE - A FEW MINUTES LATER

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

     INT. A FALAFEL JOINT - A FEW MINUTES AFTER THAT

     A HUGE FALAFEL drips lettuce and tahini sauce from its end.
     We PULL BACK ON - Tony, who's just taken a bite out of the
     falafel.  He sits at a table in the back with Vincent and
     Sam.

                          TONY
                   (his mouth full)
               What I've heard so far, it's all a lot of
               talk.  I wasn't so sure what to make of
               it at first, cause, like I said, the
               Irish and the Russians are an unlikely
               mix.

                          VINCENT
               You said you might know where we can get
               a copy of this tape?

                          TONY
               All depends on whether you want the
               Russian or the Gaelic language version.

                          SAM
                   (instantly)
               Gaelic.

                          TONY
               You sure?

                          SAM
               I'm sure.

                          VINCENT
                   (to Tony)
               Can you get it?

                          TONY
               The Russian would be easier.

                          SAM
               Why's that?

                          TONY
               Cause the Russian production company
               would be easier to find.

                          SAM
               It's the Irish tape we want.

                          TONY
                   (with a sigh)
               Gonna be tough.

     Tony scribbles something on a piece of paper.

                          TONY
               Last I heard there was a film rep for the
               Irish players staying at this address,
               name of Seamus Reilly.

                          SAM
                   (repeating it, he knows this
                    name)
               Seamus Reilly.

                          VINCENT
                   (to Sam)
               You know him?

                          SAM
               I know of him.

                          TONY
               Seamus Reilly, boy's a serious Irish
               Auteur -- a real firebrand.  Thinks his
               more moderate filmmaking brethren have
               turned to making movies for peace-loving
               pussies, if you see what I'm saying.

                          VINCENT
               I get the picture.

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

                          VINCENT
               Tony and I have to talk some business,
               first.

                          TONY
               I gotta try and overcharge him, he has to
               moan about the price, we settle somewhere
               in the middle.

                          VINCENT
               It's a matter of respect.
                   (to Sam)
               Why don't you wait outside, this won't
               take long.

     Sam smiles slightly and rises from the table, moving towards
     the exit.  Behind him in rapid-fire French, Tony and Vincent
     are now discussing the price of the information.  They are
     both loud and abusive, and obviously they're enjoying
     themselves immensely.

     EXT. THE FALAFEL SHOP - A LITTLE LATER - DAY

     Vincent exits the shop and gets into -

     INT. THE PEUGEOT

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

                          SAM
               The Irish representative?

                          VINCENT
               Yes.

     Vincent gives Sam another piece of paper.

                          SAM
               What's this?

                          VINCENT
               The address of the Russian production
               company.  Just in case we need to find
               them.

                          SAM
               Thorough man.

     Vincent starts the car and we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. A PARIS STREET - LATER - AFTERNOON

     The Peugeot sits, parked at a cub, a discreet distance from -
     AN APARTMENT HOUSE: 35 Rue de Glacon.  We PUSH IN on the -

     INT. THE PEUGEOT - LATE AFTERNOON

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

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

                          SAM
               You sure your friend got the right place?

                          VINCENT
               If Tony says this is it, then it's it.

     BEAT.  Vincent wants to know something important.

                          VINCENT
               Tell me, Sam: why do you do this?

                          SAM
               Do what?

                          VINCENT
               Continue when it would be so much easier
               to give it up.

                          SAM
               It's my job.

                          VINCENT
               Then quit.
                   (beat)
               You don't work for Interpol, Sam.

                          SAM
               Sure I do.  You heard him, you heard the
               guy -- that's what he said, what Edvard
               said.

                          VINCENT
               It's a cover, then.  A cover within a
               cover, a feint within a feint.
                   (quick beat)
               You work for the CIA, it's the only
               possible answer.

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

                          SAM
               I'm a field agent -- last of an already
               extinct breed.  I do dark ops.

                          VINCENT
               Dark ops?

                          SAM
               Dark operations.  Wet work.  Kidnaping.
               Assassination.

                          VINCENT
               Very ugly.

                          SAM
               It is at that.

                          VINCENT
               Not very zen of you, huh?  Not so much
               the modern Samurai after all.

                          SAM
               I never made that claim.

                          VINCENT
               I know.  Jean-Pierre did.

                          SAM
               You were behind the door?

                          VINCENT
               I was waiting to see what would happen.
               I didn't want to kill him if I didn't
               have to.

                          SAM
               You would have done that?

                          VINCENT
               I would have tried not to.  But yes, if
               it would have kept him from shooting you,
               I would have.

                          SAM
                   (almost to himself)
               How could you have done that?

                          VINCENT
               Because I owe you.
                   (he sees something)
               Look at that...

     THEIR POV: Through the Windsheild - Deirdre exits the
     apartment building.

                          SAM (O.S.)
                   (quietly exultant)
               All things come to those who wait.

     Now Deirdre is followed by Seamus and Gregor.

                          VINCENT (O.S.)
                   (really surprised by this)
               He's not dead.

     BACK ON Sam and Vincent.

                          SAM
                   (figuring it out)
               They don't have the package.

                          VINCENT
               You think?

                          SAM
               You said it yourself: Gregor's not dead.
               If they had the package, they'd have
               killed him.

     Vincent and Sam exchange a look -- now they both figure it
     out.

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

     CUT TO:

     INT. THE POST OFFICE - LATE AFTERNOON

     A HAND signs a receipt, and we PULL BACK TO REVEAL Gregor at
     a counter, signing for his package, which slides across the
     counter.  It's the Briefcase, although it's been wrapped in
     BROWN PAPER for its journey through the French Postal System.
     Now we see that - Seamus is still right beside Gregor; is, in
     face, almost on top of him, with a hand in his coat pocket
     which lets us know where his gun is.  Now - The two men start
     to move towards the exit as we -

     CUT TO:

     EXT. THE STREET OUTSIDE - A MINUTE LATER/LATE AFTERNOON

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

                          SAM
               Don't do it...

     Something in his voice conveys enough of a threat that she
     backs off.  Now she and Sam exchange a long look.

                          DEIRDRE
               Well, if it isn't Mr. Interpol himself.
                   (she really sounds betrayed)
               I can't believe I misjudged you like I
               did.

                          SAM
               Oh please..you're on some sort of holy
               mission?

                          DEIRDRE
               I'm a patriate.

                          SAM
               Don't even think that I'm buying that.

                          DEIRDRE
               Where do you get off saying word one?
               All the time pretending to be one of us,
               it's the same thing we were doing, Seamus
               and myself.  And here you are so high and
               mighty, like you're so different from the
               rest of us.

                          SAM
               I didn't say I was.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (she sees something)
               Bloody fucking hell...

     CUT AWAY TO: Gregor and Seamus are leaving the post office.
     By now, Seamus has taken the package away from Gregor.
     Unseen by these two men - Vincent is approaching from the
     side, on an intercept course, his hand inside a bag which he
     carries with him.  Now - Deirdre turns and shoots Sam a look.
     He's still watching her keenly, and we can see that she's
     aching to reach for her piece, but she can't because Sam is
     still on her like a hawk.

                          SAM
               Don't even think it.

     He pulls back the folds of his suit jacket, revealing his
     gun, putting his hand comfortably on the pistol grip.

                          SAM
               I'd kill you before you had it halfway
               out.

     Vincent is closing on Gregor and Seamus, another ten seconds
     and he'll have them.

     Now - Deirdre looks back at Sam, then back at the situation
     developing in front of her, and then suddenly - She slams the
     car into gear and drives off, tires squealing while - Sam
     pulls his piece, sighting down the barrel and - He can't do
     it, can't shoot Deirdre.  Now - The sound of the car alerts
     Seamus, who turns in time to see - Vincent, who is raising
     the bag wrapped around his hand as - The car flies directly
     at - Vincent, who if forced to jump out of the way even as he
     pulls the trigger of the gun hidden within the bag.  The end
     of the bag explodes in a burst of fire, but the shots are off
     the mark - Missing Seamus and Gregor as - Vincent rolls out
     of the way, just in time, while - Deirdre brakes the car to a
     screaming halt, as Seamus pushes Gregor in ahead of him and
     then gets in.  Seconds later, the car pulls out, even as -
     Sam drives up in the Peugeot to Vincent, who picks himself up
     off the ground and leaps into the car.  The last thing we
     hear is the sound of Sam's Voice as the Peugeot drives off.

                          SAM (V.O.)
               Put your seatbelt on.

     CUT TO:

     INT./EXT. - CAR CHASE MONTAGE

     During this SEQUENCE, we'll JUMP CUT BETWEEN the two cars and
     the streets they travel through.  Now - The Black Compact Car
     flies down a small street, followed closely by - The Peugeot,
     where Sam is driving as Vincent tries to steady his gun to
     get a clear shot at the other Car.

     INSIDE THE PEUGEOT -

                          VINCENT
               What the fuck happened?

                          SAM
               I don't know...

                          VINCENT
               You don't know?  Bullshit, you had her,
               there was no way out.

     IN THE COMPACT CAR -

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

                          SEAMUS
               What in bloody hell is going on?

                          DEIRDRE
               They're part of the team.  One of them's
               the guy I told you about.

                          SEAMUS
               From Interpol?

                          DEIRDRE
               That's him.

     IN THE PEUGEOT -

                          VINCENT
               Why didn't you kill her?

     IN THE COMPACT -

                          SEAMUS
               Why didn't you kill him?

     OUT IN THE STREET -

     The two cars SLAM through the traffic, heading for a HIGHWAY
     RAMP which appears now perhaps two blocks away.

     IN THE PEUGEOT -

                          VINCENT
                   (figuring it out)
               You slept with her!

     IN THE COMPACT -

                          SEAMUS
               How is it these fellahs managed to get
               the drop on us?

                          DEIRDRE
               I told you: they're good...

     OUT IN THE STREET -

     THE TWO CARS have reached the highway ramp, and as first one,
     and then the other pulls onto the highway, we PULL BACK AND
     UP TO REVEAL:

     THE PERIFERIQUE -

     The massive and confusing highway system which encircles the
     city of Paris.  Right away we notice that this entrance ramp
     leads to a traffic circle, filled with various off ramps
     which lead to no less than four different sections of the
     Periferique.

     IN THE PEUGEOT -

                          VINCENT
                   (slamming the dashboard in
                    disgust)
               You slept with her!

     IN THE COMPACT -

                          SEAMUS
                   (lecturing Deridre)
               You should have kill him when you had
               the chance.  But no...

     IN THE PEUGEOT -

                          VINCENT
               You put everything on the line because
               you...

     IN THE COMPACT

                          SEAMUS
                   (as if finishing Vincent's
                    sentence)
               You slept with the fucker!!

     ON THE PERIFERIQUE -

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

                     VINCENT (O.S.)
          Fuck...

     IN THE PEUGEOT -

                          VINCENT
               Left left left!!!

     Sam looks up and sees - Three possible ramps: one to the
     right, one to the center, and one to the - Left.  At the last
     second he takes the left turn as we go back to -

     IN THE COMPACT CAR -

     Where Seamus has turned from lecturing Deirdre to threatening
     Gregor.  Seamus holds the package in one hand and his gun in
     the other.

                          SEAMUS
                   (waving the package)
               This better be the real thing or you're a
               dead man!

                          GREGOR
               It is, I'm telling you it is!!

                          SEAMUS
               You've told me a lot of things, boyo...

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

                          SEAMUS
               Lose them!

                          DEIRDRE
               You lose them!

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

                          SEAMUS
               To the right!!!

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

     EXIT RAMP, going against heavy traffic.  Now -

     Deirdre swerves her car around, side-swiping several cars,
     but avoiding a major crash while - The Peugeot follows along,
     and now -

     One of the cars that Deirdre side-swiped careens wildly down
     the ramp, crashing into - The Peugeot, which grinds to a halt
     as Vincent and Sam bounce forward in their seats, restrained
     by their seatbelts.  The car has stalled, and Sam has to
     start her up again and slam it into gear before following
     after - The Compact, which now has a lead of perhaps fifty
     yards -- but at least it's possible for the Peugeot to follow
     after the Compact, because it's the only car on the highway
     ahead of them that's GOING THE WRONG WAY, and now we - PULL
     BACK, LOOKING DOWN FROM ABOVE, and the two cars are flying
     through the rush-hour traffic, going the wrong way, and now -
     The Peugeot is gaining ground as Sam turns to Vincent.

                          SAM
               Give me a cigarette.

                          VINCENT
               Right now?

                          SAM
               Gimme a goddamn cigarette!!!!

                          VINCENT
                   (fumbling with a cigarette)
               Why are you driving?
                   (rapid fire)
               You're not French, you don't live here,
               you don't know these roads.  Why are you
               driving?

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

                          SEAMUS
               About time!

                          DEIRDRE
                   (glancing in her mirror) 
               Not yet...

     The Peugeot has also managed to avoid the pile-up, and it's
     back on their tail.

                          SEAMUS
                   (practically tearing his hair)
               Good Christ!  Can't you lose these
               jokers?

                          DEIRDRE
                   (through clenched teeth)
               They're good!

     And now the Peugeot SLAMS into the side of the Compact Car,
     and as it does - Seamus opens fire with his gun, even as -
     Vincent unloads the better part of a clip as - Glass shatters
     in both cars, and now Deirdre looks up to see -

     A FORK IN THE ROAD, and the left side of the fork is closed
     off, blocked by - A SERIOUS CONCRETE BARRICADE, and the
     Compact Car is headed right for it, and now -

     Sam has the Peugeot pinned right to the side of the Compact
     Car, metal against metal, a scream of steel as the Barricade
     rushes straight at them and at the last second - Deirdre
     slams on the brakes as -

     Seamus fires one last shot that - blows out the window in
     front of Sam's eyes, causing Sam to - Jerk the wheel of the
     Peugeot wildly, spinning out of control onto the exit ramp as
     Gregor reaches over and unbuckles Seamus's seatbelt right as -
     The Compact Car slams into the Barricade and CRASHES, and
     we're in SLOW MOTION as -

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

     Seamus is hurled form the car, crashing through the
     windshield and flying through the air as -

     The Compact Car flips over and over and over while -

     Gregor, who is wearing his seatbelt, hangs on for dear life
     to the Briefcase, which he grabbed back from Seamus before
     the crash, and now -

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

     Sam tries to control the Peugeot, which is in a spin on the
     exit ramp as -

     Gregor kicks open the back door and slides out of the Car,
     carrying the Briefcase with him, as -

     Deirdre struggles to free herself from the wreck, which is
     now - On fire, and now -

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

     A VERITABLE FLEET OF COP CARS is now closing on the accident,
     and it's too late to turn around, and even as -

     Deirdre manages to pull herself out of the wreck, it -
     EXPLODES into a ball of fire, and the blast wave of fire -
     Hits Seamus, knocking him down, covering him for a second,
     even as - Deirdre hurls herself through the flames and comes
     out - Rolling away with Seamus, who is now not only cut to
     pieces, but his face is covered with some hideous burns.

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

     Sam catches a quick glimpse of -

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

     The Wreck, which is quickly burning itself out, and as the
     Cops look into the debris they see that -

     THERE'S NOBODY LEFT.  Everybody's gone.

     FADE OUT.

                          VINCENT (V.O.)
               We don't have much time.

     FADE IN ON:

     INT. VINCENT'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

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

                          SAM
               Nice place.

     ANOTHER ANGLE - And we see the rest of the apartment: there's
     practically nothing here.  A table with a couple of chairs, a
     fridge.  An open door leads to a bedroom with a small, spare
     bed and a nightstand with a cheap lamp.

                          VINCENT
                   (by way of explaining)
               I'm not here very much.

                          SAM
               Business keeps you on the road?

                          VINCENT
               Something like that.

     The two men crass the room towards - A METAL CABINET which is
     tucked into a nook in the wall - VINCENT'S HAND turns a heavy-
     duty COMBINATION LOCK and then: Click, the cabinet opens and
     we see -- WEAPONS.  An endless cache of guns, knives,
     explosives, surveillance devices, gun scopes -- you name it,
     it's here.  Now Vincent's Hands reach into the cabinet and
     start taking out weapons.  We PULL BACK ON -

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

                          SAM
               I know I don't need to say this to you,
               but I need to say it to you.
                   (beat)
               This is my job, I have to do it.

                          VINCENT
               So I do it.

                          SAM
               No you don't, and you know it.

                          VINCENT
               If our positions were reversed, would you
               leave me?

                          SAM
                   (he says this too quickly)
               In a minute.

                          VINCENT
               I think not.

     BEAT.  Sam can't say anything, because he knows that what
     Vincent is saying is true.

                          VINCENT
                   (considering the weapons)
               Do we need anything else?

                          SAM
               Yeah.  We need out fucking heads examined.

     Vincent thinks about this for a seoncd -- and then burst out
     laughing as we -

     CUT TO:

     INT. ANOTHER CAR - MEANWHILE/NIGHT

     Deirdre once behind the wheel.  The passenger seat next to
     her is empty, but as she drives we can see her eyes as they
     flick from the road in front of her, to the rearview mirror,
     which reveals -

     A glimpse of the HIDEOUS FACE of Seamus Reilly.  Crashing
     through the windshield and the blast of fire have forever
     changed the way he looks: his face is now a mass of oozing
     wounds and burn tissue.  In his eyes we see the light of a
     sick, twisted man who's gone over the edge.

                          DEIRDRE
               You better be careful, Seamus, before
               something happens a plastic surgeon can't
               fix.

                          SEAMUS
                   (a hideous laugh)
               Plastic fucking surgeon?
                   (indicates his face)
               You think I'm going to fix this, Deirdre
               lass?  It's the mark of the patriot, and
               I'll wear it like a badge.  As for those
               who done it to me, I'll take my pound of
               flesh before this is all over.

                          DEIRDRE
               You're thinking with your gun, Seamus,
               and not your head...

                          SEAMUS
                   (losing it)
               Shut up!!!
                   (he puts a gun to her head)
               Shut up and drive!  I'm your superior
               officer and you will do as I goddamn well
               say, is that understood?!?

     BEAT.  Deirdre bristles at Seamus's words but says nothing.

                          SEAMUS
               Do I need to repeat myself?

                          DEIRDRE
               No, Seamus.  I heard you the first time.

     EXT. OUTSIDE THE CAR - SAME TIME

     THE CAR zooms off into the night and as it does -

     A LIGHT RAIN starts to fall and we -

     DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. A CHATEAU OUTSIDE OF PARIS - NIGHT

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

     A WOODS -

     A forest, really.  Filled with ancient trees, almost mythic
     in appearance, and for all the light of the chateau this
     place is darkness visible -- light comes here and dies.  And
     in this woods, looking out, we find - Vincent and Sam.
     Heavily armed, they've just humped God knows how many miles
     through the woods to get here.  Both men exhausted from the
     walk -- Sam from his wound, Vincent from his smoking habit.
     They collapse and Vincent takes out his cigarettes.  Even
     though they're screened from the chateau back here, Sam
     reaches over and takes the cigarettes out of Vincent's hands.

                          SAM
               Not here.  They might see it.

                          VINCENT
               If I'm going to die for the CIA, I'm
               going to go out smoking.
                   (takes the cigarettes back and
                    lights one)
               Besides, there's half a forest between us
               and them, they can't see a goddamned
               thing.

     Vincent offers one to Sam, who declines with a shake of
     his head.

                          SAM
               Time to quit.

                          VINCENT
               Just like that?

                          SAM
               Not just like that... Just before I turn
               around and it's six months from now and
               the first thing I do when I wake up in
               the morning is light a cigarette.

                          VINCENT
                   (obviously he does this)
               What of it?
                   (almost to himself)
               Samurai pain in the ass.

                          SAM
                   (he hates this)
               Would you stop with that...

                          VINCENT
               Why?  You've got more force of will than
               anyone I've ever seen.  You handle a gun
               like it's a part of you, you perform
               surgery on yourself without anesthesia...
                   (quick beat)
               And most amazing of all, you quit
               smoking, just like that.

                          SAM
                   (qith a cynical laugh)
               The mark of a true Samurai.
                   (seriously)
               What I do for the Company, Vincent, is no
               different than what you do.  We're both
               hired guns, and this is a job -- like any
               other job.

                          VINCENT
               Why then, Sam, don't you act like this is
               a job like any other?  Surely, if you are
               a hired gun, you realize that some times
               you just have to walk away without
               getting what you came for.

                          SAM
               Because I don't walk away.

                          VINCENT
               Why not?

                          SAM
               It's the one thing I've got left to hold
               onto.
                   (beat)
               Jean-Pierre is one of your closest
               friends, is he not?

                          VINCENT
               Closest and oldest.

                          SAM
               And yet you would have killed him to save
               my life.
                   (quick beat)
               You have a sense of honor, Vincent, that
               I can't even remember anymore.  I don't
               know that I ever even had it to begin
               with.  All I know to do, Vincent, is to
               finish my job.

                          VINCENT
               And when you finish?  What then?  This
               package, whatever it is, do you give it
               to the CIA?  Do you really think they
               deserve it?

                          SAM
               That's a good question.

                          VINCENT
               Do you have a good answer?

                          SAM
                   (he's really just considering
                    this)
               No, I don't.

     INT. THE CHATEAU - MEANWHILE

     ARMED RUSSIAN MOBSTERS everywhere -- a convention of the goon
     squad.

     MOVING THROUGH the Chateau itself, and from in here we see
     the side of France we haven't yet seen in this film: culture.
     Each room could be a museum, as we move through -

     A GALLERY, filled with paintings by Renaissance Masters -

     A PARLOR, with antique furniture, the youngest piece of which
     is two hundred years old -

     A BALLROOM, empty and barren, but lit by the dazzling light
     of an exquisite chandelier -

     A KITCHEN, where a cigarette smoking CHEF is putting the
     finishing touches on what is perhaps the most amazing meal
     you've ever seen.  Now - A SERVANT takes the tray and carries
     it out to -

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

     MIKHAEL RACHEV, Russian Gangster Supreme, called Mikhi.  Now -

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

     EXT. THE CHATEAU WALLS - NIGHT

     A TAXI pulls up to the Main Gate and Gregor gets out.
     Attached to his wrist, by that same handcuff: the Briefcase.
     Gregor is admitted by a Guard as we -

     CUT TO:

     INT. THE DINING ROOM/CHATEAU - A LITTLE LATER

     Mikhi the Gangster is eating his dinner as Gregor is ushered
     into the room.  THREE THUGS hang back behind Gregor, watching
     to see what Mikhi wants.  Now -

     Mikhi waves the Thugs out of the room, leaving Gregor alone
     with the gangster.  Mikhi takes a last few bites of dinner as
     he motions for Gregor to sit.

                          MIKHI
                   (in Russian, English subtitles)
               Sit, sit...
                   (offering a cigarette)
               Would you like one?

                          GREGOR
                   (in English)
               No, Mikhi, I wouldn't.
                   (letting that sink in for a
                    minute)
               Since I won't speak your language, and
               you can't speak mine, English will do
               nicely.

                          MIKHI
                   (makes no never mind to him)
               Whatever you wish...
                   (lights his own cigarette)
               This has all been a terrible mistake,
               Gregor.  I wanted to play straight with
               you, but Edvard insisted we try and kill
               you.

                          GREGOR
               Edvard said the same thing about you
               before he died.

                          MIKHI
               I'm shocked, shocked to think that you'd
               believe him.

                          GREGOR
                   (suddenly sharp)
               Enough!

     Gregor raises the Briefcase which is still attached to his
     wrist via the handcuff.  Gregor rests the Briefcase on the
     table.

                          MIKHI
               Ahh...

     The moment of truth.  Before this scene can develop any
     further, a VOICE comes from Off Screen, and as the Voice
     speaks, Gregor blanches.

                          SEAMUS (O.S.)
               The moment of truth, is it?

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

                          GREGOR
               What is he doing here?

     As Seamus speaks he walks through the room, examining the
     valuable china and crystal, all the while moving inexorably
     closer to Gregor.  His face is, if anything, even more
     horrific than it was a short while ago, as his formerly fresh
     wounds have started to scab over.

                          SEAMUS
               What am I doing here?  Why, I'm here to
               see my partners, Gregor, the boys in the
               Russian Mafia.  See, your bosses had
               hoped to screw me by hiring you to pull
               your thieving double cross.  But they
               only just found out that what's in the
               briefcase is completely useless without
               me.  I can't fight them, and they can't
               kill me -- that means we're gonna have to
               do business together.

                          GREGOR
               But you hate each other!

                          SEAMUS
               What's a little hate between business
               partners?

     EXT. THE WOODS - MEANWHILE

     Vincent's CIGARETTE is stubbed into a rock and the two men
     rise with a slow purpose.  They exchange a look and then Sam
     steps forward, leading the way

                          SAM
               I'm on point, Vincent.

     A WIDE ANGLE - THE BACK LAWN OF THE CHATEAU -

     Pure Kurosawa.  The JAPANESE DRUM we've heard before starts
     to play again as -

     THE LONG SHADOWS of Sam and Vincent come out of the woods and
     into the brilliant light of the back lawn.  For one minute
     they stand still, and among the many weapons that Sam carries
     is a long automatic rifle, strung over his back, and in the
     SILHOUETTE for one minute it looks like a Samurai sword.  Now
     the two men start to move across the lawn, hugging the
     shadows of the various statues and hedges, trying to keep
     from being discovered for as long as possible.

     BACK IN THE DINING ROOM -

                          GREGOR
                   (to Seamus)
               So, you've got it all figured, do you?

                          SEAMUS
               Figured enough to know there's an odd man
               out and I'm looking at him.

                          GREGOR
               I think not.
                   (holds up the Briefcase)
               I have, of course, taken the precaution
               of wiring the briefcase to explode five
               seconds after it opens.  Unless, of
               course, I deactivate it before it goes
               off.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (under her breath)
               That fucking figures...

                          GREGOR
               Should any of you decide to rush me, I'll
               kill myself and whoever happens to be
               near me at the time.

                          MIKHI
               And more importantly --

                          GREGOR
               I'll destroy whatever's in the case.

     BEAT.  Nobody moves.  Nobody speaks.  Until finally -

                          SEAMUS
               It looks, Gentlemen, as if we're gonna
               have to sit down to table and work out an
               agreement.

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

     THE BACK LAWN OF THE CHATEAU -

     Sam and Vincent are closer to the Chateau, moving in stealth,
     avoiding any entanglements and then Sam turns a corner and
     comes face to face with - A GUARD, and his gun is aimed at
     Sam's head: Sam's a dead man as we go -

     BACK TO THE DINING ROOM

     AUTOMATIC WEAPONS FIRE splits the night, and everyone in the
     room looks at one another, before Mikhi speaks.

                          MIKHI
               What was that?

     BACK OUTSIDE THE CHATEAU -

     The Guard who had Sam in his sights falls down, dead, shot by
     - Vincent, whose smoking weapon is cradled in his arms.
     Vincent smiles at Sam.

                          VINCENT
               That's one less I owe you...

     Sam smiles, but it's no time to get satisfied.  their
     presence revealed, there's no point in moving quietly.  Sam
     draws his weapons and as he and Vincent charge across the
     lawn towards the Chateau while -

     BACK IN THE DINING ROOM -

     MORE GUNSHOTS from outside -- not a war, but enough to cause
     serious alarm.  Deirdre, ever the soldier, draws her two
     automatic pistols.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (to Seamus and Mikhi)
               You two stay here and watch our mutual
               interest.

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

     BACK OUTSIDE THE CHATEAU -

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

     A BACK ENTRANCE TO THE CHATEAU -

     Some kind of kitchen storage area, and as Sam and Vincent
     burst in from outside - FIVE RUSSIAN HOODS come flying in
     from an interior entrance, and this is it, Sam and Vincent
     are outnumbered, outgunned, they're going to die and then -
     They take out the entire room - Sam holds an automatic pistol
     in his left hand, and a submachine gun in his right, and when
     he fires, he does so in short controlled bursts, firing only
     when he has the target in his sights, while - Vincent fights
     with a kind of sheer force, a shotgun in one hand, an Uzi in
     the other, he fires at anything and everything that moves,
     and he hits almost all of it - And suddenly the room is
     quiet.  Everybody's dead except for Sam and Vincent.  They
     drop their spent weapons and take out fresh ones even as they
     move towards - THE DOOR - It leads to two passages, each one
     leading to a separate wing of the chateau.

                          SAM
               Let's work our way through the building.
               I'll take one wing, you take the other.

     Vincent and Sam split up, moving into separate WINGS of the
     Chateau, and as they move off Sam speaks a word of warning.

                          SAM
               Watch your back, Vincent.

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

     Deirdre, who's running through the house, going from room to
     room, and we're with her for a minute, the JAPANESE DRUM
     starts to play again, and now it's joined by more and more
     drums, and they continue for the test of this sequence and
     suddenly - A HUGE BURST OF GUNFIRE is heard, dragging
     Deirdre's attention towards -

     THE BALLROOM -

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

     ON DEIRDRE -

     Running through the halls as we hear one last burst of
     gunfire: somebody in the ballroom is dead.  Deirdre has
     almost reached the ballroom when - Sam comes flying out, and
     the two of them CRASH TOGETHER, sending the two of them
     sprawling into - The shot-up mess that used to be the
     Ballroom - And as they crash to the ground, Sam loses his
     weapon in the fall, but Deirdre manages to hold onto one of
     her two guns.  Now the two of them roll to their feet, and as
     they do we're back in -

     THE DINING ROOM -

     Seamus the Madman is pacing the floor, his face even worse
     than before: with each minute the mask of flesh that is now
     his face is becoming more grotesque.  Little pustules have
     started to form all over its surface, oozing a whitish
     viscous liquid.  A NEW BURST OF FIGHTING SOUNDS can be heard,
     and Seamus, who is no longer capable of thinking straight,
     loses it.

                          SEAMUS
               I can't take it anymore.
                   (to Mikhi)
               Watch him, man, I'm going out and finish
               what needs finishing!

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

     THE BALLROOM -

     Where Deirdre has her two guns pointed at Sam and - Does nothing.
     BEAT.

                          SAM
               Go on, them...

     But Deirdre can't do it.  There's something between these
     two, and now - Sam looks around and sees Deirdre's other
     pistol lying on a broken chair, and now he -

     Kicks out with his foot and hits the chair leg, causing it to
     function as a lever, sending the gun - THROUGH THE AIR in a
     graceful SLOW-MO arc until it - THWACKS into Sam's Hand.  Now
     he's armed and he looks back at - Deirdre.  Her FINGER
     tightens on the trigger, she's almost ready to shoot -- if
     Sam raises his piece, he's a dead man.

                          DEIRDRE
               Let it go, Sam, walk away.

     In response Sam stares at Deirdre for a BEAT and then he
     smiles an enigmatic smile and - He steps sideways, into a
     nearby corridor, vanishing.

                          DEIRDRE
               God damn it!

     She runs after him but she's too late -- The corridor outside
     is empty.  Now we're back in -

     THE DINING ROOM -

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

                          GREGOR
                   (a feral hiss)
               We'll die if we stay here!

                          MIKHI
                   (threatening with the gun)
               You'll die if you leave here.

     Gregor sits back down, fairly close to Mikhi.  Then, in a
     manner so deft that Mikhi never even notices, Gregor extracts
     a wickedly thin stiletto blade from the leather lining of the
     Briefcase.  Before Mikhi can even react, Gregor stabs his arm
     forward in a savage arc - JAMMING THE BLADE into Mikhi's
     throat.  Mikhi drops his gun and reaches for the blade,
     already gagging on the blood spray which shoots from the
     slashed artery.  Within seconds - Mikhi falls to the ground,
     jerking viciously in his death throes as - Gregor picks up
     the pistol and runs to leave the room, and as he does we move
     to - 

     THE GALLERY -

     Filled with Paintings and Sculptures, nothing less than 200
     years old.  This place is a maze, what with it's walls of
     paintings that jut out here and there, the various corridors
     which lead from room to room, and the sculptures which block
     sight lines.  Now we find - Vincent, pressed against a wall, a
     gun in each hand, while - FIVE RUSSIAN MAFIA GUYS are hunting
     him down.  We do a SERIES OF QUICK CUTS as the Five Guys split
     up and look for Vincent, all the while speaking in low Russian
     voices.  Suddenly one of the Guys turns a corner and sees -
     Nothing.  No Vincent.  Now he turns back and - A FIST CRASHES
     through a painting which hangs on a makeshift wall.  It's
     Vincent.  His hand wraps around Mafia Guy's neck, pinning him
     in place.  Seconds later - Two quick shots rip through the
     painting, hitting Mafia Guy in the head.  Now - The other men
     are alerted by the shots, they come running and - Vincent steps
     out firing -

     And now it's a bullet-fest, as he gets the drop on them,
     using the maze of the Gallery to his fullest advantage,
     gunning them down - First one - Then two - Three, and then -
     No four.  Vincent turns, surprised that his man wasn't where
     he expected him to be when - A SHOT RINGS OUT, hitting
     Vincent, a flesh wound that disarms him.  The Last Guy has
     the drop on Vincent.  Now - The Last Guy smiles a nasty
     little smile at Vincent and - A PISTOL spits fire and - A
     BULLET bursts out of the Last Guy's chest.  It's Sam.  Now
     Sam and Vincent exchange a look: Sam has, once again, saved
     Vincent's life.

                          VINCENT
               You have to stop doing that!

                          SAM
               I'll work on it...

     The two men don't have time for any more words, they move
     from the Gallery and find themselves in -

     THE DINING ROOM -

     Where they find nothing but the bloody remains of Mikhi the
     Gangster.  Sam and Vincent are surveying the room when a
     VOICE comes from BEHIND them -

                          SEAMUS (O.S.)
               Turn around real slow, and try hard not
               to breathe when you do it.

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Seamus Reilly has come in behind them, and
     he's got his gun pointed straight at Sam's heart.  If Seamus
     is enraged at discovering Gregor's absence, he's overjoyed to
     find Sam in his place.

                          SEAMUS
               It's you...
                   (touches his face)
               You're the one did this to my face, are
               you?

                          SAM
               That's me.

                          SEAMUS
               Have a nice afterlife.

     Seamus pulls the trigger and his BULLET spins out towards
     Sam, ready to blow a hole through him except that - Vincent
     leaps forward and takes the bullet -- it rips into his side,
     a huge splash of red against his white shirt.  He falls to
     the ground, horribly wounded, but he's given Sam enough time,
     and now - Sam and Seamus open fire on one another - BULLETS
     RIPPING into the table, chewing up the china and crystal,
     taking glass shattering bites out of the CHANDELIER above the
     table, turning the Dining Room from a primo Louis XIV
     showpiece into shit as the two men move about and then
     suddenly - They're face to face, each with a gun to the other
     - Mexican Standoff.  Suddenly, from Off Screen -

                          DEIRDRE (O.S.)
               Seamus!

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Deirdre has appeared, her gun leveled at the
     two men.

                          SEAMUS
               Deirdre, do for him, woman, put a fucking
               bullet in his head!

     Deirdre hesitates, uncertain.

                          SEAMUS
               Do it, for Christ's sake, do it so we can
               find that stinking Gregor, he's got the
               bloody package!  For God's sake, you're a
               soldier...

     These last words sink into Deirdre: she is a soldier.  Her
     gun swivels towards Sam.

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

     Deirdre makes up her mind.

                          DEIRDRE
               I'm no girl, Seamus...

     She fires a shot - Blowing Seamus off his feet and through a
     huge PLATE GLASS WINDOW.

                          DEIRDRE
               And you ain't nobody's people.

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

                          SAM
                   (to Deirdre)
               Let's get him out of here...

                          VINCENT
               Finish the job...

                          SAM
               And now...

                          VINCENT
                   (a commanding whisper)
               Finish it!

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

     OUT ON THE BACK LAWN - We've already seen that it's bordered
     on one side by the woods, for the first time we notice - A
     LAKE, which laps against a PRIVATE DOCK, where a row boat is
     tethered.  Now - BENEATH A VERY FULL MOON, the stark figure
     of Gregor makes its way toward the Dock.

                          DEIRDRE
                   (calling out)
               Sam...

     Sam turns at the sound of her voice and sees Gregor making
     his escape.  Sam looks back at Vincent, who is almost passed
     out from blood loss.

                          VINCENT
               I'm really sick of you saving my life.  Go
               out and get the bastard.

     Same makes up his mind, and as Vincent passes out, Sam runs
     out after Deirdre and towards -

     THE PRIVATE DOCK -

     And as the two of them run we MOVE WITH THEM.

                          DEIRDRE
               He's got the briefcase rigged to explode
               five seconds after anybody other than
               himself tries to open it.

     And now they reach the Dock and they find - Nothing -- no
     Gregor.  And the Boat is still there.  Before Sam can
     restrain her - Deirdre stps out towards the Boat.

                          SAM
               Deirdre, wait up --

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

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

                          GREGOR
               You might have made a good field agent
               you arrogant American prick, but you're
               not smart enough to go up against me.

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

                          GREGOR
               Go ahead, shoot... Shoot and kill the
               bitch, I don't care.
                   (beat)
               And yet you don't shoot.  Interesting.
               Put down your weapon and walk away.

                          DEIRDRE
               Don't do it, Sam!

                          GREGOR
               Shut up!

                          DEIRDRE
               He'll kill me anway, Sam, shoot though
               me and kill this fucker.

                          SEAMUS (O.S.)
                   (a horrible croak)
               If you don't, I will...

     ANOTHER ANGLE - Seamus is somehow still barely alive -- he's
     not long for this world, but the will for revenge has driven
     him this far.

                          SEAMUS
                   (to Sam, in a cold pale rage)
               Shoot that traitorous bitch and I'll let
               you live.

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

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

     IMPACT - The Briefcase bursts, shot open by Sam and now we're
     in SLOW MOTION as -

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

     BABOOM!  The case EXPLODES, a flash of phosphorescent white
     light that incinerates Gregor and the case and whatever was
     inside it with an explosion that knocks Sam to the ground and
     when the light clears - Gregor and the case are gone, while -
     THE EXPLOSION ECHOES out over the lake, booming again and
     again until finally there is - SILENCE.  Sam looks out over
     the lake for any sign of Deirdre - But there is none.  And
     then, after we've held for a BEAT longer than it should be
     possible for her to have survived - her head splits the
     surface and she emerges, coughing.  Sam reaches down to help
     her out.

                          SAM
               Are you alright?

                          DEIRDRE
               Alright?  It's bloody fucking freezing in
               here!

     Sam pulls Deirdre out of the water and then the two of them
     immediately turn and move towards Vincent, and as they do we
     start to PULL BACK on them, and now the SOUNDS of SIRENS can
     be heard, one, then two more, and then a symphony of noise.
     And we're STILL PULLING BACK ON -

     THE CHATEAU - Or what's left of it, because it's started to
     burn, and quickly the flames start to rise into the night,
     like something out of medieval times as we -

     DISSOLVE TO:

     INT. A HOSPITAL WAITING AREA - NIGHT

     Sam waits outside a hospital room, inside of which we get a
     glimpse of - A DOCTOR tending to a heavily bandaged and
     sedated Vincent.  As Sam waits - TWO GENDARMES and a
     PLAINCLOTHES DETECTIVE approach.  The Detective looks at Sam
     for a BEAT, and then goes to push past him.  Sam blocks his
     way.

                          DETECTIVE
               I need to speak with that man.

                          SAM
               I'm sorry, I can't allow that.

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

                          SAM
               Call that number and ask them what you
               should do.

     The Detective eyeballs the number suspiciously.

     FIVE MINUTES LATER -

     The Detective hangs up a nearby wall phone and then looks
     over at Sam in disgust.  Without another word, the Detective
     signals to the two Gendarmes, and all three men exit.  Now -

     The DOCTOR, a beautiful French Woman, comes up and speaks to
     him in FRENCH -- and the amazing thing is that Sam speaks
     back.  Everything in SUBTITLED.

                          DOCTOR
               You can see your friend, now.

                          SAM
               Thank you very much.

                          DOCTOR
               The field dressing you put on saved his
               life.
                   (giving him a look)
               Where di you learn to do that?

                          SAM
               Here and there, I guess.

     The Doctor isn't entirely satisfied with this answer, but
     it's the only one she's going to get, because Sam moves past
     into -

     INT. VINCENT'S ROOM

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

                          VINCENT
               You son-of-a-bitch...

                          SAM
               What?

                          VINCENT
               You speak French.

                          SAM
               What of it?

                          VINCENT
                   (in mock exasperation)
               Nothing...

     He lies back on his pillow, pissed and yet amused.

                          VINCENT
                   (repeating the Doctor's words
                    in English)
               "Your field dressing saved his life."
               That's three I owe you.

                          SAM
               You don't owe me a goddamned thing,
               Vincent, and you know it.  You stepped in
               front of a bullet for me.
                   (very seriously, he now
                    believes this)
               I owe you a heavy debt.

                          VINCENT
                   (relishing this)
               I know.

                          SAM
                   (rising to leave)
               You better get some sleep, alright?

                          VINCENT
               Tell me something first.
                   (a quick beat)
               The package: what was it?

                          SAM
               I don't know.  Nobody knows, except a
               bunch of people who are too dead to tell
               us.  There's probably a couple of guys
               back at the Company who know, but I don't
               think they plan to tell me anytime soon.

                          VINCENT
               What happened to it?
     
                          SAM
               Gone.  Destroyed.

                          VINCENT
                   (sighs, then a beat)
               I guess that's for the best.

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

                          VINCENT
               Sam, when Gregor had Deirdre by the lake,
               you could have killed the two of them
               with one shot.  You could have had the
               package, finished the job.  But you
               didn't, you sacrificed the job to save
               her life.  Why?

     Same has to think about this for a second, and his answer
     reveals just how full circle he's come.

                          SAM
               It's what you would have done.

     And on that note Sam exits the room, leaving a bemused
     Vincent behind.

     EXT. THE BANK OF THE RIVER SEINE - EARLY MORNING

     A WISPY FOG atmospherically rises off the river -- not too
     thick, not too thin.

     A TITLE: One month later...

     We're MOVING along the cobble-stone walk next to the river as
     a VOICE cuts through the fog.

                          VINCENT (V.O.)
               Would you just smoke already...

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

                          SAM
               I told you, I quit.

                          VINCENT
               Just to keep me company, Sam -- I hate
               smoking alone.
                   (turning to Deirdre)
               How about you?  I thought all you IRA
               types smoked.

                          DEIRDRE
               Only the stupid ones.  Cigarettes kill
               more patriots than bullets.
                   (a quick beat)
               Besides, I'm not IRA no more.

                          VINCENT
               So where do you go from here?

                          DEIRDRE
               I don't know.  I was thinking...Maybe the
               three of us might partner up -- guns for
               hire, that sort of thing.

                          VINCENT
               I'm up for that...

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

                          SAM
               Not me.  You work too often with the same
               people and you become friends -- clouds
               your judgement.

                          DEIRDRE
               Come off it, Sam -- if we weren't friends
               already we wouldn't be here now, would
               we?

                          VINCENT
               She's got a point.
                   (playing a trump card)
               Besides, I know of a job that's
               available.

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

                          SAM
               How much does it pay?

     SLAM CUT TO:

     EXT. OUT ON THE RIVER SEINE - MEANWHILE

     SILENCE AND FOG.  A RIVER FERRY does a slow ghostly glide
     down the river, and in seconds it approaches -

     THE RIVERSIDE CAFE, which appears through the mist, looked at
     by --

     A SLEEK PAIR OF SUN GLASSES attached to a young PUNK in a
     leather coat, and the Punk is looking at - Sam, Vincent, and
     especially: Deirdre.  Sam looks up and shouts a warning as -
     The Punk pulls a shotgun from beneath his leather coat, pumps
     the gun and screams out at Deirdre with an Irish accent -

                          PUNK
               This is for Seamus!

     BOOM!  The Punk pulls the trigger, a blast of fire as - Sam's
     gun is already out, TWO QUICK SHOTS squeezed off and - The
     Punk is capped twice in the head, dead, sailing away on the
     Ferry which never stops as -

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

                          VINCENT
                   (soft yet urgent)
               We have to go, Sam, we can't be here.

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

                          VINCENT
                   (a little louder, bordering
                    desperation)
               Let's go!!

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

     THE STREET ABOVE THE RIVER -

     Sam and Vincent are running through patchy fog, Vincent
     leading the way, and now -

     We're CLOSER ON Vincent as he runs and runs and runs until he
     feels he's far enough away from the scene of the crime to
     relax.  He collapses against a stone wall, chest heaving,
     shaking out two cigarettes, one for himself and one for Sam.

                          VINCENT
                   (thrusting the cigarettes out to
                    Sam)
               Doctor's orders...

     But Sam isn't there to take the cigarette -- Vincent looks
     around, trying to see what happened to his friend, but the
     fog has covered any sign of Sam.  Vincent stands there,
     stunned, alone, the cigarettes in an outstretched hand that
     slowly falls back to Vincent's side as he realizes that Sam
     has left him on purpose.  Then - Vincent lights both
     cigarettes at the saem time and throws one of them over the
     stone wall - THE GLOWING CIGARETTE arcs through the air until
     it lands in the river where it extinguishes with a hiss.

                          VINCENT (O.S.)
               Goodbye, Sam...

     BACK AT THE CAFE -

     The Gendarmes have secured the scene (there isn't much to
     secure since everyone has run away).  A majority of cops
     surround Deirdre's dead body, but - One GENDARME wanders
     around the cafe, looking about, and then he sees something -

     ON THE STREET ABOVE -

     A SHAPE IN THE FOG.  The wind blows and the fog clears for a
     second, and we see that it's - Sam.  Getting one last look at
     Deirdre.  Quickly - The Gendarme points Sam out but as he
     does the wind continues to blow and - THE FOG swallows Sam.
     Seconds later the fog clears again, and when it does - Sam is
     gone.

     FADE OUT.








   

Ronin



Writers :   J.D. Zeik
Genres :   Action  Crime  Thriller


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