"THE SIEGE"
Screenplay by
Lawrence Wright, Menno Meyjes & Edward Zwick
Story by
Lawrence Wright
1998
SHOOTING DRAFT
FADE IN:
EXT. TYRE, LEBANON - DAY
A coast road. Date palms. Burnt-out hulks that once were
Russian T-54 TANKS have long ago been left to rust in the
sun. A 4-door MERCEDES hurtles down the ancient road.
DEVEREAUX (V.O.)
We're online for exactly two minutes.
A SATELLITE VIEW
Of the same scene. A grainy IMAGE of the car, and some
distance away, a moving cluster of animals. They are:
HERD OF SHEEP
As seen at ground level. Two SHEPHERDS goad them forward. In
the distance, the MERCEDES approaches.
FLASH CUT -- NEWS FOOTAGE (STOCK)
U.S. Army medics and rescue workers frantically sift through
the rubble of a collapsed barracks.
CNN REPORTS (V.O.)
"...the single worst casualty in the
history of American military --"
BACK TO -- THE COAST ROAD
The Mercedes barrels down the road, doing at least 80 mph.
THE SATELLITE VIEW
Shows that the car is fast approaching the point where the
herd of sheep are about to cross the road.
FLASH CUT -- NEWS FOOTAGE (STOCK)
Amidst the rubble, the dead are zipped into body bags.
CNN REPORTS (V.O.)
"-- the truck, carrying high
explosives is believed to have hit
the barracks --
BACK TO -- THE COAST ROAD
The driver of the Mercedes hits his horn but doesn't slow
down. In addition to the driver and a bodyguard, an OLD MAN
WITH A HENNAED BEARD, a turban, and sunglasses sits in back.
THE SATELLITE VIEW
As the Mercedes closes with the sheep:
DEVEREAUX (V.O.)
Slow down.
BACK TO -- THE COAST ROAD
As if on command, the Mercedes finally slows as the sheep
move lazily across the road.
FLASH CUT -- NEWS FOOTAGE (STOCK)
President Clinton addresses reporters in the White House.
PRESIDENT CLINTON
"To any lengths, anywhere in the
world, to bring these people to
justice."
BACK TO -- THE COAST ROAD
Inside the Mercedes, they watch as the Shepherd urinates and
the sheep mill about in the middle of the road. The driver
rolls down his window to scream in Arabic at:
THE POOR SHEPHERD
Who hurries to button his fly. It is only as we look closer
that we see the silenced muzzle of:
COLT COMMANDO RIFLE
Protruding from the sleeve of his jhallabah. And then:
THE HERD OF SHEEP
Fill the frame, blocking our view of the Mercedes, and for a
moment, all we can HEAR is their gentle bleating. But as
they clear frame, we can see that:
THE MERCEDES
Has been turned into an abattoir, its windshield shattered
and bloody. The driver slumps over the steering wheel, the
bodyguard is half out of the window. And in the distance:
WITH A MAGICIAN'S ALACRITY
One Shepherd pulls a BLACK HOOD over the Sheik's head while
the other injects him with a HYPODERMIC. The first Shepherd
activates a SATCHEL CHARGE and swings it into the Mercedes
while the second straps the Sheik into a HARNESS... A BALLOON
self-inflates and hurtles aloft, pulling a cable attached to
the Sheik's harness.
AN MC-130 COMBAT TALON AIRCRAFT
Its "Whiskers" in the nose of the aircraft snag the cable
without slowing and roars off, the Sheik dangling unconscious
beneath -- just as the satchel charges EXPLODE the Mercedes.
THE SATELLITE VIEW
Records impassively for a moment, then breaks up into static.
DEVEREAUX
Gotcha.
IN A SAFE HOUSE -- SOMETIME LATER
A pale, diminished Sheik sits at a steelcase table. A STEEL
COT and a STEEL TOILET. Closed-circuit cameras in the corner.
Opposite him: the man, whose voice we have only heard: GENERAL
WILLIAM DEVEREAUX -- and though he wears a civilian suit,
his bearing betrays his pedigree. His considerable charm and
habitual skepticism are as much a product of self-discipline
as his close-order drill.
DEVEREAUX
Nobody knows you're here. Not your
people. Not even my President. You'll
die here alone and be buried unknown --
barring some miracle.
The SHEIK speaks a few words in Arabic.
DEVEREAUX
-- God? GOD?
(looks at him)
What you eat. Whether you eat. Sleep.
Pain. Absence of pain. I decide. I
make the day and the night. Even the
way you got here -- a hand that
reached down from the sky?
(looks at him)
God? I am your new God.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MOSQUE - DAWN
A MUEZZIN climbs a spiral staircase, enters a turret-like
room, CLICKS ON a microphone and CHANTS the call to prayer.
MUEZZIN
Allahuh Akbar...
HUNDREDS OF BELIEVERS prostrate themselves on prayer rugs.
At the door, hundreds of SHOES are lined up, work boots,
expensive loafers, a range of social classes represented.
ON THE STREET
Shopkeepers pause to kneel and pray. In Arab homes, parents
and children do the same. And as we PULL BACK from:
THE MINARET
Of the Mosque, we DISCOVER not an Arab city, but instead the
unmistakable skyline of:
DOWNTOWN MANHATTAN
The World Trade Ctr, Wall Street, The Federal building.
IN THE FBI SITUATION ROOM
Two AGENTS hurry through the bullpen. TINA OSU, 32, sharp,
and FRANK HADDAD, Lebanese with an insouciant grin.
TINA
Brooklyn South issued a code blue
less than two minutes ago. They think
hostages are involved.
FRANK
Black-and-whites on the scene?
TINA
Setting up a perimeter now.
FRANK
Residence or business?
TINA
A bus.
Sequence omitted from original script.
THE 99 BUS -- SEEN FROM ABOVE
Surrounded by a phalanx of Black-and-Whites.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
They have been joined by Anthony Hubbard, the ASAC.
HUB
SWAT?
FRANK
On the way.
HUB
Negotiator?
TINA
Rolling.
HUB
Bomb squad?
THE 99 BUS
The BOMB SQUAD approaches. We SEE terrified PASSENGERS inside.
BACK TO -- HUB AND FRANK, EXITING THE FEDERAL BUILDING
HUB
How soon can we get there --?
FRANK
In this traffic, maybe tomorrow.
BACK TO -- THE 99 BUS
As a police TECHIE inserts a dentist's mirror through a
drilled hole in the bus's door, the L.E.D. begins to BLINK
and the passengers SCREAM and dive for cover. An EXPLOSION.
BACK TO -- HUB AND FRANK, IN THE CAR
Frank is listening to a cell phone.
FRANK
Oh, fuck. It just blew.
BACK TO -- THE 99 BUS
The doors hang off their hinges. As the PASSENGERS tumble
off, we SEE they are covered in BLUE PAINT.
BACK TO -- HUB AND FRANK, IN THE CAR
HUB
-- What?!
FRANK
-- That's what they're telling me.
HUB
-- And nobody's hurt?
Frank nods. Hubs closes his eyes in gratitude.
HUB
Thank God.
CUT TO:
THE JOINT FBI/NYPD TERRORISM TASK FORCE - FEDERAL BLDG
They're listening to a tape-recording, altered by a VO-CORDER:
TAPED VOICE
-- our first and last warning.
As the MESSAGE continues, we PAN the faces: MIKE JOHANNSON,
squad supervisor, and DANNY SUSSMAN, representing NYPD.
TAPED VOICE
We expect our demand to be met. There
will be no negotiation. That is all.
TINA
Demand for what? You hear any demand?
MIKE
You sure this is all they got?
SUSSMAN
That's it.
FRANK
Maybe it's performance art.
Sussman shoots him a look. Clearly Haddad enjoys pushing his
buttons. Finally, Hub stands up.
HUB
-- Okay. Blue paint. Voice-altering
technology --
FRANK
-- available from The Sharper Image
catalogue.
SUSSMAN
Last I looked they weren't offering
exploding paint bombs.
HUB
Still, the rhetoric sounds political.
Militia?
TINA
Not their style.
HUB
Frank --?
FRANK
Jihad isn't known for their sense of
humor, and Hamas is raising so much
money here, why queer their deal?
TINA
Anyway, isn't Green the color of
Islam, not blue?
FRANK
-- And, excuse me, but why do we
immediately assume they're Arabs?
HUB
I want a composite of the suspects
in circulation by the end of business
today. Tina, you cross-check it
against the mainframe. Mike, have
you got the lab analysis on the paint?
MIKE
Not yet...
HUB
-- See if any was sold in quantity
the last month. Danny --
Tina's phone buzzes. She picks it up as Hub keeps going:
HUB
-- find out what stop these guys got
on the bus, maybe there's a witness.
FRANK
Hub... I think we're all eager to
give up our weekends on this. It
just occurs to me, has anybody even
committed a crime here? I mean,
assault with a deadly color?
Hub deals with Haddad's irreverence by ignoring it.
HUB
Here's what I don't like. They know
explosives. They know our response
time. They put in a call and walk.
A young agent, FRED DARIUS, hands Hub a piece of paper:
FRED
Excuse me, sir. I think you should
see this. Came in on the Fax.
Only two words are written: "RELEASE HIM."
HUB
Release him? Him who? Who are we
holding?
TINA
Marv Albert?
SUSSMAN
McVeigh? Sheik what's-his-name from
the Trade Center.
FRANK
-- Omar Abdel Rahman... asshole.
FRED
The Hamas guy got released in April.
FRANK
Under protest.
HUB
(looks at the fax)
Why be coy about it?
SUSSMAN
You think it's phony?
TINA
(covering the phone)
Hub, somebody's flashing a government
badge over at the warehouse where
they're working on the bus. Our tech
guys want to know if we're cooperating
with any other agencies on this thing.
Off Hub's look, we:
CUT TO:
AN OLD WAREHOUSE IN BROOKLYN - DUSK
Hub and Haddad join AGENT FLOYD ROSE, a tall Black man.
AGENT ROSE
-- She's looking for wiring signatures
on the device and asking for copies
of any latent prints we've managed
to lift.
HUB
-- Agency?
AGENT ROSE
Smells like it. Turns out she's also
been talking to some of the
passengers.
THEY OPEN THE DOOR
In the klieg lights -- THE BUS. Men in white coats dust every
inch and generally behave as if investigating a crashed UFO.
In their midst, a young WOMAN, midwestern pretty in a serious
suit. She looks up as Hub enters.
HUB
Hi.
WOMAN
Hi, there.
HUB
Special Agent Anthony Hubbard. FBI.
WOMAN
Oh, shit, I've been trying to liaise
with you all day. My name is Elise
Kraft, National Security Council.
She offers her hand. Hub doesn't take it yet.
HUB
-- And you've been trying to "liaise"
with me all day? Did you think of
trying the phone book, Elise? We
have fourteen lines, that's not
counting the unlisted ones.
ELISE
(still holds out hand)
Hi, I'm Elise Kraft, National Security
Council.
Finally, he takes her hand. And doesn't let go.
HUB
And I'm Colin Powell. What exactly
do you people want with my bus.
She tries to take her hand away, but he tightens his grip.
ELISE
We're all on the same team here,
Agent Hubbard.
HUB
Who exactly is "we" on this particular
team, Elise?
ELISE
It's never the question that's
indiscreet, only the answer.
He smiles. She smiles back. Convinced she's charmed him.
HUB
Tell you what, you send me an official
inter-agency request for cooperation
on this and I'll give you copies of
everything we come up with. Otherwise,
get your ass on out of here before
you contaminate my crime scene any
more than you already have.
ELISE
There's no reason to be nasty.
HUB
You think this is nasty?
(smiles)
In case you haven't heard. The CIA
has no charter to operate
domestically. Which puts you in
violation of federal law.
ELISE
Not according to the Cooperation
Agreement, Special Order 12333 -- I
suggest you reread the paragraph on
sharing information. I happen to be
well within my authority.
HUB
Special Order 12333 refers to domestic
terrorism. You got something you
want to "share" with me?
(he waits... but no
answer is forthcoming)
Us being teammates and all?
ELISE
(holds up a clipboard)
Unfortunately, not yet. But as soon
as I do, I'll --
HUB
-- get back to me, yeah, I know.
(takes the clipboard
from her hands)
Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna
have a couple my "teammates" here
escort you back to wherever you came
from. And then I'm gonna go back to
the office and wait for that official
cooperation request. Okay by you?
ELISE
Swell.
HUB
Nice meeting you, Elise. Is that
Elise with an "E" or an "A"?
ELISE
Nice meeting you, too, Special Agent
Hubbard.
OUTSIDE THE WAREHOUSE
Hub watches as Elise is led away by two AGENTS. Agent Rose
stands nearby.
HUB
Tail her.
NICE LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT
In Frank Haddad's home. The Haddad's are celebrating the day
FRANK JR. has finished reading the Holy Koran.
FRANK JR (O.S.)
(in Arabic)
"In the Name of Allah, the beneficent,
the merciful. Say: I seek refuge in
the Lord of Men, the King of Men."
Frank's TEACHER offers the final benediction. Those who are
Muslim cover their face with their palms.
TEACHER
(in Arabic)
"Make me know that which I have become
ignorant of; and make me recite it
in the hours of the night and the
day; and make it an argument for me
O Thou Sustainer of all the worlds!"
Ameen!
ALL
Ameen.
Later --
The guests mingle, eat pastries and drink sweet tea.
TINA
...Nice, wasn't it?
HUB
Very.
TINA
(after a moment)
You ever gonna stop by, pick up your
things?
Nearby, Mike and Danny observe them.
DANNY
-- He doing her?
MIKE
Some detective you are. They stopped.
FRED
Really? I wonder if she likes white
guys.
DANNY
I wonder if she likes bald guys.
Hub, meanwhile, congratulates Frank's wife, NAJIBA.
HUB
You must be so proud...
NAJIBA
Small children, small worries. Big
children --
FRANK
-- big orthodontia bills. Someday,
you'll understand.
And then Frank notices Hub's DRIVER standing in the doorway.
FRANK
Where we going?
HUB
You're staying with your family. I'm
back in the morning.
CUT TO:
Sequence omitted from original script.
Sequence omitted from original script. (ALREADY SHOT)
INT. HUB'S OFFICE - EARLY MORNING
Hub is looking at surveillance photos of Elise. Frank enters.
FRANK
You sleep here?
(Hub smiles, but
doesn't look up)
Immigration called.
A SMALL GREEN ROOM -- AS SEEN THROUGH A TWO-WAY MIRROR
Hub and Frank watch a dark-skinned MAN being questioned by a
uniformed OFFICIAL. An INS Supervisor shows them a false-
bottomed suitcase stuffed with money.
INS OFFICIAL
-- all in small bills. So we figure,
smurf, right? Then I think,
considering the gentleman's
nationality, plus where he's been
recently, we better call Frank.
FRANK
-- who's trying to score points with
his boss, bigtime.
HUB
Has he broken any laws?
INS OFFICIAL
No, sir. He's twenty bucks under the
$10,000 limit.
FRANK
(pulls out a $20 bill)
Not anymore.
IN THE ROOM
The official hopes volume breaks the language barrier.
UNIFORMED OFFICIAL
...so, Kahlil, you're saying this is
an INHERITANCE? Somebody DIED and
you're bringing them the MONEY?
The dark-skinned man is trying to keep up:
KAHLIL
No, no... dhouri.
BEHIND THE MIRROR
FRANK
...He means, "dowry."
HUB
Check out his neck.
Small puckered SCARS. The INS guy looks confused.
FRANK
The tabac.
(mimics putting out a
cigarette on his arm)
Sssssss... The territories.
HUB
(thinks a moment)
Put him in play.
CUT TO:
THE VAN WYCK EXPRESSWAY
Hub and Frank in a rental CONTOUR, tail Khalil, in a cab:
HUB
(on the phone)
-- on the Van Wyck... No, not yet.
(to Frank)
-- What are we in?
FRANK
A '97 Contour. On my Visa.
(watches Khalil)
Back home, the security services'd
be up this guy's ass with a poker,
but what do we do, we let him go.
HUB
(still on the phone)
...Six teams on the ground, at
least... well, pull 'em off the UN...
(to Haddad)
Stay back...
FRANK
Not my first date, Hub.
(the TAXI changes
lanes)
He's taking the BQE. Looks like it's
Brooklyn.
HUB
(still on the phone)
I want husbands and wives, I want
baby carriages, and no Brooks
Brothers.
FRANK
You're micro-managing.
HUB
(still on the phone)
-- And find me a judge I can work
with. We want sound on this guy...
damn'... I'm losing you...
(raises his voice)
And bring us a radio.
FRANK
I get reimbursed for this, right?
CUT TO:
ATLANTIC AVENUE - BROOKLYN
The Third World. Teeming, roiling, Kinshasha meets Beirut
meets Tel Aviv meets Moscow. Hand-written shop signs in Arabic
and Hebrew, boom boxes throbbing out "Oum Khatoum," the latest
neo-Palestinian techno-rock.
KHALIL pays the taxi driver and starts off on foot. Hub's
CONTOUR pulls over a safe distance behind and waits. An AGENT
passes by and slips a WALKIE-TALKIE through the open window.
MAN CARRYING GROCERIES
Falls in behind Khalil, who ducks into a storefront, where
WE CAN SEE him buying a Coca Cola and a Baby Ruth bar.
IN THE CONTOUR
FRANK
(notes the purchase)
Twelve bucks in Gaza.
HUB
America's the place to be if you're
a terrorist.
(on the walkie-talkie)
Fred's hovering. Patsy, take over...
A WOMAN WITH A STROLLER replaces the man carrying groceries.
HUB
...Tell her to watch out for
reflections.
FRANK
(hands him the phone)
I got the Judge.
HUB
(on the phone)
...Good morning, Sir. How're things
in the Second Circuit this morning...?
...I hear you... Listen, Judge, we're
in a kind of situation here...
KHALIL is on the move again.
HUB
(on the phone)
Hold on, will ya, Judge?
(into walkie-talkie)
Is he talking to somebody, who's he
talking to? Are we getting film?
FROM A GREAT DISTANCE
An AGENT with a TELEPHOTO snaps a picture of Khalil, who has
paused to chat with a PALESTINIAN of patrician good-looks.
HUB
(covering the phone)
-- Frank?
FRANK
Don't know him. If we were allowed
to get sound on them, we'd know him.
The walkie-talkie CRACKLES TO LIFE, confirming the photos.
HUB
(covering the radio)
...What's that? No, Judge, not yet
we're not... but we have reason to
believe he may be involved with --
(covers the phone
again; keys the radio)
Damnit Tommy!
(to Frank)
He's overacting! Tell him --
(back to the phone)
Sorry, Judge... No... I just --
FRANK
He's making him. Shit. Fuck. He's --
Khalil has a sixth sense from a lifetime on the West Bank.
All of a sudden, he BREAKS INTO A RUN.
HUB
(keys radio)
Go, go, go!!! All units --
He slams the car into gear and PEELS OUT into traffic.
SIX SURVEILLANCE TEAMS
In various guises, break cover and SPRINT after Khalil, who
shifts into overdrive. Cars SCREECH to avoid flattening him.
Hub's CONTOUR pulls into traffic and finds his way blocked
by a narrow passage between double-parked cars. He goes for
it, SCRAPING his way between them.
FRANK
Christ!
HUB
(on the phone)
Judge, I'm gonna have to call you
back...
KHALIL SPRINTS
Into an open-air MARKET, KNOCKING DOWN veiled WOMEN with
bags of fruit and vegetables. He VAULTS over stalls.
The CONTOUR scrapes PARKED CARS as it swerves into an alley,
desperately trying to cut off Khalil's escape route.
FRANK
Shit --! I didn't take the insurance.
A SOCCER BALL bounces into Hub's peripheral vision, followed
by TWO BOYS.
HUB SLAMS THE CONTOUR INTO THE WALL
To avoid killing the two boys. Hub gets out of the car and
continues the pursuit on foot. He's gaining on Khalil, when:
A VAN
Bears down on Khalil, its doors sliding open as TWO PAIRS OF
HANDS reach out and ANOTHER MAN appears out of nowhere and
BODYCHECKS Khalil into the van and jumps in after him.
HUB
What the --?
The van BURNS RUBBER and DISAPPEARS into traffic.
MINUTES LATER --
An impromptu huddle in the alley. AGENTS gather in a circle
as RADIOS SQUELCH and HELICOPTERS circle above.
FRED
They just found the van. Doesn't
look like they're gonna find any
prints.
The Agent who took the pictures pulls a color xerox-type
PHOTO from a digital printer in his car. Hub looks at the
picture of Khalil and the good-looking Palestinian.
HUB
Run him down, bring him in.
Fred hands a cell phone to Hub.
FRED
Floyd Rose.
HUB
Go, Floyd.
As he listens, the first trace of a smile graces Hub's face.
CUT TO:
AN ORDINARY HOUSE
In an ordinary neighborhood. Hub sits in an UNMARKED CAR.
Agent Rose climbs into the front seat.
AGENT ROSE
I've got two in the Plymouth, at
least three inside, and see that guy
walking his dog...? He did his
business about an hour ago and they're
still walking.
IN ANOTHER CAR --
DANNY
I had a dog like that once.
FRANK
It's not his dog, numbnuts. They're
spies.
DANNY
The dog works for the CIA?
Their radio CRACKLES to life. It's Hub.
HUB (V.O.)
(over the radio)
All units report in turn.
We HEAR "Unit 1 is good to go," "Unit 2, we're ready to rock."
HUB
Let's roll.
THE MAN WALKING THE DOG
Is suddenly double-teamed by TWO AGENTS.
AGENT - MIKE
Federal Agents. Hands behind your
back --
A third AGENT throws his jacket over the dog.
TWO UNMARKED CARS
Fishtail across the quiet street, boxing in the Plymouth as
an AGENT from the sidewalk thrusts a 12-gauge Remington Pump
in through the driver's window.
AGENT - FRED
-- Keep 'em where we can see 'em,
thank you very much.
THE DOOR TO THE HOUSE
Is BLOWN-IN by a specially-designed SHOTGUN. Two MEN, eating
take-out are surprised by Frank and Tina, their guns drawn.
FRANK
Hi, guys, I expect you know the drill.
Hub continues warily from one empty room to the next. A
stairway leads downstairs. As Hub starts cautiously down,
muted VOICES can be heard. Reaching the bottom, he sees:
KHALIL
Sitting in a chair. Behind him stands one of FREELANCERS
from the warehouse. And opposite him, in a barca-lounger:
ELISE KRAFT -- Somehow amidst the normalcy of the furnished
basement is a palpable feeling of menace.
As Hub shows himself, one of the Freelancers points a Glock
.9 at his head. Hub just stares him down.
ELISE
Ralph, spare us.
The freelancer lowers the gun. Hub looks at Khalil, whose
face is badly bruised.
ELISE
I never touched him.
HUB
Really? I'm taking him into custody
just the same.
ELISE
What are you going to charge him
with? Jaywalking?
(Hub stares at her)
I don't suppose we could just have a
little chat with him here first?
HUB
Not in this lifetime.
ELISE
You know, Hub... may I call you Hub?
If you guys hadn't blown the
surveillance, we'd have been able to
follow the money. What do you think,
Khalil, you would have led us right
to your friends, wouldn't you?
Khalil averts his eyes from any contact with her.
HUB
What friends --? What have you got
for me, Elise?... Enlighten me.
(she stonewalls)
Tell me now or tell me downtown.
Still nothing. Hub calls out to his agents.
HUB
Get this guy out of here and book
him.
As the other agents approach Khalil:
ELISE
One phone call and he's mine again.
You know the number. I have --
HUB
You have "the right to remain silent,"
you have "the right to an attorney.
Anything you say can and will be
held against you in a court of law --
"
ELISE
(overlapping him)
Oh, come on... Do you have any idea
what you're starting here, the kind
of shitstorm you're about to --
HUB
(overiding her)
-- Kidnapping. Obstruction of Justice.
Assault.
As he heads out of the room, he says to a waiting Agent.
HUB
Cuff her.
CUT TO:
HUB'S UNMARKED CAR
Elise sits, handcuffed, alone in the back seat. Up front,
Frank is driving with Hub beside him.
FRANK
So, Elise... You okay back there,
you don't get carsick or anything?
Those handcuffs too tight --?
ELISE
Shouf mountains, right? Shiite or
Sunni?
FRANK
Wow. You're really good.
(to Hub)
She's really good.
HUB
You ready to tell us what's going on
here, Elise --? Was the paintbomb a
warning?
ELISE
(to Haddad)
American University of Beirut? I was
there from '79 to 82.
FRANK
(a look to Hub)
No shit?
ELISE
My father taught Economics. Henry
Kraft?
HUB
Is there a terrorist cell operating
in this city that we are unaware of?
ELISE
(ignoring him; to
Haddad)
Such a tragedy. Growing up in that
city was... paradise. Like an exotic
Paris, wasn't it, Frank --?
HUB
You ever been in Rikers, Elise? You
know what happens in there?
Elise looks at him, utterly unfazed by the threat.
ELISE
...Yum.
Frank's BEEPER goes off. As they look at one another, we:
CUT TO:
ABOUT A MILLION COP CARS
Red lights flashing, have sealed off a Brooklyn Street. On
the rooftops SWAT teams are already deploying.
SHARPSHOOTERS politely insinuate themselves into the
surrounding family APARTMENTS and take up firing POSITIONS.
THE 87 BUS
Stands alone in the middle of the street. Through a Marksman's
SCOPE we SEE the terrified passengers forced to stand, catch
glimpses of the TERRORISTS, obscured by the hostages.
Hub confers with the NYPD officer-in-charge.
NYPD OFFICER
-- definitely Arab-types, only this
time they're still in there...
HUB
Any communication at all?
NYPD OFFICER
Nope. It's weird they're just in
there.
HUB
Get the frequency of the driver's
radio and patch it through to this
number. We need two lines. Frank,
get a negotiator out here.
NYPD OFFICER #2
Sir, they've got kids in there. We
count six.
This rocks Hub for a moment but he covers it well.
HUB
That gives us something to work with.
BACK AT THE CAR
Elise leans forward as Hub opens the driver's door.
ELISE
What's happening out there...
Hub takes off his jacket, folds it carefully on the seat.
ELISE
They've taken another bus, haven't
they? Talk to me...
HUB
Oh, now you want to talk. You want
to be my friend, is that it?
ELISE
Listen, these guys are the real deal.
HUB
How do you know?
She just looks at him.
HUB
Is there a terrorist cell operating
in Brooklyn?
ELISE
(a long moment)
Yes.
HUB
Was the blue paint a warning?
ELISE
Yes. And I'm afraid this time they'll
blow the bus.
HUB
If they wanted to blow the bus then
why haven't they blown the bus --?
ELISE
I... don't know.
He starts away.
ELISE
Agent Hubbard. Please. Maybe I can
help.
A COMMAND POST
Has been hastily improvised behind a SWAT van.
FRANK
The driver's name is Larry Kaiser.
He says they've got explosives
strapped to their chests, they got
automatic weapons, and they're
speaking Arabic.
HUB
Where the hell's the negotiator?
FRANK
Tunnel's got twenty minute delays
and they're working on both bridges.
HUB
(to the cop)
What else did he say about the device?
Did he describe it at all? Anything
about a button, or a cord, or...
THE FIRST ENG TRUCK
Pulls up and raises its satellite dish.
ELISE
(almost involuntary)
Oh, God.
Frank turns to look at her. She is suddenly pale.
ELISE
(as it dawns on her)
...They're not here to negotiate.
FRANK
Meaning?
ELISE
They were waiting for the cameras.
Hub is deep in conversation with the cops. Frank interrupts.
FRANK
-- Hub...
Hub looks up. Frank nods for Elise to repeat what she said.
ELISE
They're want the newsies here. They
want everybody watching.
Hub and Frank look at each other. Can this be true?
ELISE
You've got the shooters in place?
FRANK
-- So?
ELISE
Use 'em.
HUB
What?
ELISE
Kill 'em now.
They just look at her.
ELISE
It's lose-lose any way you play it...
Do you want to lose little or lose
big?
The NYPD officer has been listening:
NYPD OFFICER
I got the marksmen on the com --
They're looking for a clean shot.
As the Policeman waits for a response on his radio, two more
NEWS VANS pull up. The MEDIA CIRCUS has come to town:
reporters breathlessly offer their live, on-the-scene reports.
Hub and Elise stare at one another.
NYPD OFFICER
Shooter says they've got the
passengers all standing in the aisles.
He says, no go.
Hub can see the dread in Elise's eyes. As the seconds tick
away, TWO NEWS HELICOPTER jockey for position above.
HUB
(to the cops)
We have rules of engagement we're
gonna follow here, folks, so put the
safeties back on your weapons.
(looks at Elise)
Nobody's killing anybody until we
see what's what.
He grabs the phone.
HUB
(on the phone)
Larry, this is Agent Hubbard of the
FBI, I'll be negotiating our way out
of this. Let me talk to one of them...
I know... I know. You just hang in
there, Larry... No, don't worry,
I've got somebody here who can
translate.
He looks over at Frank, who's listening on another cell.
HUB
(on the phone)
Sir, -- My name is Anthony Hubbard.
I don't have any authority to make
deals, or respond to demands. I just
want to find out if you need anything
in there? If any of the passengers
are in need of medical attention?
He waits as Frank translates. Hub covers the mouthpiece.
HUB
-- Frank?
FRANK
I don't know if they understand.
HUB
(on the phone)
Sir, is there anything you want to
say to me? That I can tell my people
here?
FRANK
The guy's just breathing into the
phone, maybe they're not even Arabs.
HUB
(on the phone)
I get the feeling you don't want to
talk, but will you listen --?
...Whatever grievance you have,
whatever quarrel -- surely it doesn't
involve these children --
Still no response.
HUB
(on the phone)
So I'm gonna ask you to... please...
let... the... children go.
No response -- then suddenly, the bus doors HISS OPEN
And six bewildered, ashen-faced CHILDREN step out before the
doors HISS closed behind them. As Hub and a couple of the
cops hurry out from behind the barricades to help the children
cross the NO-MAN'S LAND to safety, a smattering of APPLAUSE
breaks out among the cops. Elise tries to hold back tears.
FRANK
Okay, here we go...
HUB
(on the phone)
Thank you, sir. I appreciate that
gesture, I really do. The best way
to get what you want in these
situations is to show yourself to be
reasonable. As you've just done.
(Haddad translates)
Now we've got some more to talk
about...
Elise watches as the news cameras zoom in.
HUB
(on the phone)
I am unarmed, as you can see. So I
propose... You let the rest of the
passengers go, and I take their
place... That way, there's no pizza
deliveries or bathroom breaks to
worry about -- and all these --
(indicates SWAT teams)
-- people... will disappear.
Frank shakes his head, don't do this. Hub's look says
translate it. Frank does it. They all wait.
HUB
(on the phone)
I'm gonna take your silence to mean
you're considering my offer --
Elise looks at Frank, she can't help but admire his bravery.
HUB
How about we just start with a few
of the elderly people you got on
there. It's got to be hard for the
older folks to be standing all this
time.
Hub looks back at Frank. Still no response.
AND THEN THE BUS DOORS HISS OPEN AGAIN. A few elderly
PASSENGERS start down the steps.
HUB
(on the phone)
Thank you, sir. Now let's just let
these --
THE EXPLOSION OF THE BUS
Hurls Hub backwards as:
ALL SOUND FADES OUT
To be replaced by a high-end, almost electronic WHITE NOISE.
SHRAPNEL
Imbeds itself into car doors, bus benches, doorways as every
WINDOW in a three-block radius is SHATTERED...
RED BLOOD
Replaces blue paint in a horrific shower.
HUB
Fights for consciousness.
AGENTS
Rush to his side to see if he is alright -- but WE CANNOT
HEAR them. Though their mouths move it is only the WHITE
NOISE that overwhelms us -- as we realize that Hub has been
momentarily DEAFENED by the blast.
When at last Hub manages to speak, his words are MUFFLED and
INDISTINCT -- as if the playback heads of a tape recorder
needed to be cleaned.
HUB
I'm... alright. I'm --
Frank Haddad bends down close and we can lip-read him saying,
"Just hang in there, buddy. . ."
HUB
-- okay... Just let me --
And then he leans over to VOMIT in the street.
THE SOUND OF SIRENS
Slowly bleeds in through the white noise -- mercifully for
us, and for Hub, who wipes his mouth and looks up, realizing
that his HEARING is coming back. He reaches for Frank's
outstretched hand and stands, albeit woozily.
HUB
Is anybody --
But the look in Frank's eyes says it all.
THE DEVASTATION
Is numbing. IMAGES we associate with other countries. And
then he sees Elise. Her face is cut and bleeding, but as
their eyes meet, her look is one of absolute compassion.
HARD CUT TO:
MORE THAN A HUNDRED AGENTS
Crowded into the now-overflowing BULLPEN. In absolute denial
of his physical condition, Hub paces like a caged animal.
HUB
-- every trap, every hole. I want to
rumble every mosque, every community
center, every student organization
that's ever said an unkind word. I
want the heat turned up under all
our assets, all our informers, every
snitch gets twisted inside out. And
put some money out on the street --
Arab community hates these people as
much as we do. They'll help.
(turns to Mike)
Have you got positive ID on --
MIKE
Hub, we don't have positive ID on
anybody.
HUB
We need more hands. Fred --
FRED
I'm on it.
He picks up a phone and begins requesting Agent transfers.
HUB
I want to talk to Khalil.
TINA
He's down the hall.
Now she picks up a phone and adds to the cacophony.
HUB
-- Conferences with DC at 9:00, 12:00,
4:00 and 9:00. Call your families,
find a sleeping bag, nobody leaves
this office until we have a strand
to pull. Oklahoma City, people. The
first twenty-four hours are the only
twenty-four hours.. And I don't want
to see anybody walking.
TEN MINUTES LATER - OUTSIDE A HOLDING CELL
Hub and Frank watch Khalil through a VIDEO MONITOR. The
bruises on Khalil's face have deepened.
HUB
Doctor seen him?
TINA
He's on his way up.
HUB
Got a cigarette --?
TINA
You don't smoke.
Hub pockets the pack of cigarettes and walks into:
THE CELL
Frank hangs back in the doorway. Hub pulls up a chair, turns
it backwards, and sits down very close to Khalil.
HUB
Ten thousand dollars.
Frank translates. Khalil pretends not to understand.
HUB
Khalil. I want to talk about the
money.
Again Frank translates. And again, Khalil looks blank.
HUB
Okay...
Hub reaches into his pocket and casually takes out the pack
of cigarettes. Khalil's eyes widen. Hub smiles at him. At
the SOUND of the match lighting, SWEAT begins to bead on
Khalil's forehead. Hub takes his time LIGHTING the cigarette --
drawing deep so the tip turns bright red. Khalil unconsciously
RECOILS in his chair.
HUB
(to Frank, re: Khalil)
Doesn't like second hand smoke.
Hub turns back to Khalil, casually gesturing with his
cigarette. Khalil almost jumps out of his skin.
HUB
You ready to talk about money?
Frank hasn't even begun to translate before Khalil begins
SPEED-RAPPING in Arabic.
FRANK
(translating)
...He says he loves America and only
wanted to get away from the security
services at home.
Tears stream down Khalil's face. He kneels at Hub's feet.
FRANK
(still translating)
...He says he's sorry but he didn't
know he was doing something bad. His
cousin introduced him to a man who
promised him two hundred dollars for
his dowry if he'd bring the suitcase
to an address in Brooklyn.
(to Hub)
He's a cut-out.
OUTSIDE THE ROOM -- LATER
Hub hands Tina back the pack of cigarettes.
HUB
Nasty habit.
(to Danny)
3830 Flatbush Avenue.
FLASH CUT -- A SWAT TEAM
Bursts into an empty apartment. On the floor, a fax machine
continuously sending the message: "RELEASE HIM."
BACK TO -- HUB
HUB
We want every rental agreement from
every landlord in Brooklyn. Hotels,
motels, flophouses...
(to the other agents)
It's cash, guys. They're the only
ones in America using cash.
TWO HOURS LATER --
The room is dark. A TECHNICIAN operates an overhead PROJECTOR.
TECHNICIAN
This is a spectograph of the semtex
used in the bomb. Look at the benzene
spike. This is the genuine article.
(another slide)
Now... this one's from the barracks
in Dhahran. As you can see, the
signature is identical.
TWO HOURS LATER --
A COMPUTER TECHIE (WHITNEY) is cross-referencing data. DIGITAL
PICTURES of suspected terrorists scroll past. A surveillance
PHOTO of Ahmed bin Talal. The ruined army barracks.
HUB
-- ask it if they've ever hit buses?
The techie types in a few commands: IMAGES of destroyed BUSES
file past. Tel Aviv. Jerusalem. Beirut. None a match.
WHITNEY
-- not according to the mainframe.
TWO HOURS LATER --
The BOMB SCENE now resembles an archeological dig. Floodlights
on stanchions. Forensic EXPERTS, on their hands and knees,
use BLACK LIGHT and brushes to search for latent prints.
Different color STRING divides the site into a grid.
HUB
-- with a Q-tip. Bone shards, hair,
fingernails --
Nearby, Danny and Mike observe Hub's intensity.
DANNY
-- He's way over his head.
FRANK
Shut the fuck up and go give somebody
a parking ticket.
TWO HOURS LATER --
In THE LAB. A FINGERPRINT EXPERT sifts through a plastic bag
of fingertips and teeth. Scans each into a computer.
FINGERPRINT EXPERT
Not yet.
Sequence omitted from original script.
TWO HOURS LATER --
Hub is STARING AT THE TV SETS which are all REPLAYING the
terrible incident, over and over again.
TV SOUND BITE
"-- Today; Tel Aviv has come to
Brooklyn. The question... is why."
Finally, he turns away so no one will see. His eyes are hot
with the emotion.
WHITNEY
You okay?
The Fingerprint techie races in, sparing Hub a response.
FINGERPRINT EXPERT
Got one!
TWO HOURS LATER --
Hub and Tina address twenty agents.
HUB
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the late
Ali Waziri.
He projects a PHOTO of the dead Terrorist onto the wall.
HUB
Tina talked to the Israelis and traced
this sucker to a group operating out
of Ramallah. That's the West Bank,
not the West Side for those of you
just joining us from Nebraska.
A few appreciative CHUCKLES. They're all exhausted. This is
the first good news in a bitch of a day.
TINA
Okay, we've pulled his landing card
and his I-94. So now we know he came
in three days ago, out of Frankfurt --
She points to where: A TIME-LINE has been created out of
colored strips beneath a bank of silent TV monitors.
TINA
What we need now is to fill in the
time between his arrival and the
incident. All known associations,
and most of all, we need an address.
TWO HOURS LATER --
The TIME-LINE is progressing. PHONE TECHNICIANS add tie-lines,
dedicated fax lines, wats lines and scrambled lines. Cable
everywhere. Danny and Frank pore over Ali Waziri's I-94.
FRANK
IAP66. What's IAP66?
DANNY
Hold on, hold on, I'm looking it up --
FRANK
-- Today, Danny...
DANNY
Wait, wait -- Here we go. Student
Visa, J-1.
Hub has been pacing, nearby.
HUB
Where's the original --?
DANNY
In his passport.
FRANK
Which is... vaporized.
HUB
Where's the copy?
FRANK
At the point of issuance. Could be
the American Consulate in Tel Aviv.
The American Consulate in Amman,
Cairo, Alexandria, Riyadh -- all an
easy drive from the West Bank --
Hub suddenly had to fight off a wave of nausea and dizziness.
HUB
What time is it --?
DANNY
Three-fifteen. P.M.
(off Hub's blank look)
When's the last time you ate?
Fred Darius, the young agent, appears.
FRED
Sir. They want you in the lab.
THROUGH A POWERFUL ELECTRON MICROSCOPE
Hub peers through the eyepiece at a MAGNIFIED STRAND of fiber.
FIBER EXPERT (V.O.)
Pure, unadulterated, Egyptian cotton.
FRED
You're saying they're Egyptian?
FIBER EXPERT
No. No... I'm just saying -- See...
HUB
-- It's what they use for funerals.
The guy was wearing a shroud.
He looks at Frank. It's just as Elise said. The real deal.
HUB
Let's see if she's ready to talk.
A HOLDING CELL
Elise sits quietly with the stillness of those who have been
there before. Hub enters.
HUB
I thought one phone call and you
were out of here.
ELISE
I didn't make the call.
HUB
Why not?
She just looks at him, entirely neutral.
ELISE
Are you alright --?
HUB
Just some tinnitus in my left ear --
They look across the professional chasm that divides them.
HUB
I need to know what I don't know.
ELISE
Life's too short.
But there's a hint of some thawing in her tone.
HUB
You hungry?
ELISE
We ordering in --?
CUT TO:
Sequence omitted from original script.
IN A DOWNTOWN DELI
Hub and Elise sit, eating corned beef sandwiches.
ELISE
-- The funeral shroud is the final
step in the ritual of self-
purification. First a fast, then --
HUB
-- the washing of the body, then the
shroud. I saw it on Sixty Minutes.
Tell me something I don't know.
She pauses, always gauging how much to reveal. And when.
ELISE
...Last March in Iraq, we identified
the man we believe responsible for
bombing the army barracks last year.
In August, he went to Lebanon. Where
he was... extracted.
HUB
Extracted? Extracted by whom?
(she just looks at
him)
I see.
ELISE
His name is Sheik Ahmed bin Talal.
He's Iraqi. And something of a
religious leader.
HUB
With something of a devoted following?
(she nods)
...Okay, I can understand why we
might not want to publicize the fact
that our government's in the
kidnapping business, but why not
tell us?
ELISE
He's still being... debriefed. They're
not ready to go public with charges.
HUB
What else you got on his followers.
ELISE
Clearly, they're committed.
HUB
Meaning?
ELISE
In this game, the most committed
wins.
HUB
So they'll just keep coming until we
release him.
ELISE
Unless we match their commitment
with our own.
HUB
What about talking to this sheik?
ELISE
You don't think they've got guys
talking to the sheik? Except the
sheik isn't talking.
HUB
So who's giving the orders? How do
they coordinate, pick their targets?
ELISE
Believe me, we've put every resource
we've got onto that very question.
(puts down her fork)
Otherwise... we wait.
HUB
We wait.
She looks at him. For one brief moment the mask drops away.
ELISE
If there's anybody on earth who knows
how you feel, it's me. But you've
got to let it go. Those people were
dead the minute they got on the bus.
Frank Haddad appears, making his way toward their table.
FRANK
Sorry, boss. Hello, Elise. Mmmm, is
that pastrami?
(tastes it; then with
his mouth full)
Oh, yeah, we made the guy in the
picture.
Sequence omitted from original script.
CUT TO:
A CAFE
Where Students sit inside and SMOKE, then SMOKE some more.
FRANK (V.O.)
My people. The last of the
unambivalent smokers.
(shakes his head)
Monsters. The toughest motherfucker
in Bed-Stuy is a muffin compared to
some of these guys.
They watch as SAMIR gets his bill from the waiter.
FRANK
His name's Samir Nazhde. Teaches
Arab Studies at Brooklyn College. He
sponsored Ail Waziri's student visa.
And dig this -- his brother blew up
a movie theatre in Tel Aviv.
ELISE
You might consider leaving him alone.
HUB
Why would I consider doing that --?
In the cafe, Samir counts cash to leave on the table.
ELISE
Play him like a cop and haul him in
now and get your arrest, or tag him
and let him lead you to the really
big fish.
FRANK
(an arabic curse)
You're fishing and he's getting visas
for bombers.
ELISE
You ever heard of catch and release?
FRANK
Yes, and he's on the next plane for
Tunis.
Hub looks at Elise. Samir is leaving -- it's now or never.
HUB
Take him down.
FRANK
(keys his radio)
Go.
THREE AGENTS brace Samir politely but firmly, and lead him
to their car. Samir slides into the back seat next to Elise.
In the REARVIEW MIRROR, Hub watches as a look seems to pass
between them. Then again, it may not have happened.
FRANK
Samir Nazhde, my name is Frank Haddad,
I'm a Federal Agent. We have reason
to believe you are an accessory to
the bombing of Bus 87.
SAMIR
Are you crazy --?
FRANK
You are an associate of Ali Waziri.
SAMIR
Who? I know no one by that name.
Elise is looking out the window, seemingly oblivious.
FRANK
You got him a student visa.
SAMIR
I sign these applications as a matter
of course, hundreds of them. Everyone
wants to come to the land of
opportunity and Baywatch.
Elise tries to keep a smile off her face. Hub clocks this.
FRANK
You spent two years in Israeli jails
during the Intifada.
SAMIR
The only ones who didn't were women
like you.
Frank BACKHANDS him across the mouth. Samir says something
in Arabic to Frank, who responds in kind.
HUB
Frank --
FRANK
Sorry. Family matter.
(to Samir)
You're going downtown, my friend.
SAMIR
You cannot hold me. I know my rights.
I watch American television.
FRANK
Defrauding the INS is a Federal
Offense.
(hands Samir to waiting
agents)
Reservation for one, please.
CUT TO:
CTF HEADQUARTERS - LATER
They enter the BULLPEN. It's well past midnight. People are
sacked-out in sleeping bags while others continue working.
ELISE
Club Fed.
Frank leans over Danny Sussman, who has fallen asleep, face
down on his desk, and sings in a lovely brogue:
FRANK
(singing)
"Oh, Danny-boy, the perps, the perps,
are call-ing...
(as he awakens)
We need a search warrant on Samir...
HUB
Frank, c'mere a sec. I want to show
you something.
He leads Frank into another CUBICLE. Perched on nearby desk,
Elise is dialing a phone, she stops to watch them:
HUB
(quietly)
Frank, you ever hit a prisoner again
I'll have your badge.
FRANK
-- Someday I will tell you what those
people did to my village in '71.
Hub waits for him to calm down.
HUB
(touches his arm)
Okay. But right now, act as if I'm
capable of saying something funny...
Now, let's go see about that warrant.
As they walk back, Hub says to Danny:
HUB
Find me a Judge who'll play ball
this time. And set up a polygraph
for Samir.
ELISE
I still don't understand why we're
tipping our hand with him --
FRANK
What's there to tip?
HUB
You're just trying to protect your
asset.
(to Elise, pointedly:)
Aren't you, Elise --? He's your Joe,
your asset. He's working for you,
you're his case officer -- right?
How should she respond? How thin should she slice it?
ELISE
...Sometimes... in addition to being
a nationality, being a Palestinian
is also a... profession. A lucrative
one.
HUB
Meaning, he's your Joe.
ELISE
Mine. Yours. The Israelis. The Saudis.
At one time or another, everybody in
the Middle East has slept with
everybody else.
FRANK
So you're saying... you sleep around?
ELISE
Only professionally.
HUB
So we share him.
ELISE
No.
HUB
(to Frank)
-- Call INS, find out his status and
start deportation proceedings.
ELISE
I can't let you do that.
HUB
Oh, you can't let me do that. What
precisely is your involvement with
these people.
ELISE
(sighs, then:)
Samir's been a very important...
project of mine for some time... I'm
the only one he'll deal with. He's
very well-connected -- and extremely
high-strung.
HUB
...Call the judge.
ELISE
(looks at Frank)
How easy is it to get inside, Frank?
How good are your sources in the
mosques? How many people you got in
Hamas --?
Franks shakes his head, ruefully. She's right.
ELISE
No surveillance. I've seen your deft
touch.
HUB
Daily reports. We tap his phone.
ELISE
And I get to see the transcripts.
HUB
Fair enough.
ELISE
And I run him.
HUB
We share him.
ELISE
He can't know we're talking.
HUB
Then don't tell him.
ELISE
Done.
HUB
(to Frank)
Let him fly.
(back to her)
But we better start seeing product.
She nods. A deal. For now.
HUB
Any more surprises for me?
ELISE
Not tonight.
HUB
Then I'm going home to get some
things.
FRANK
I'll have somebody drive you.
HUB
I'll grab a cab.
And he's gone. Frank turns to Elise:
FRANK
Elise. I'm really high strung, too.
She just smiles and walks away.
OUTSIDE THE FEDERAL BUILDING -- MOMENTS LATER
Not many people around. Hub stands on the corner. A TAXI
cruises up. On duty. Available. He slows long enough to see
that Hub is black and passes right by.
AT A RED LIGHT
The taxi driver stops just long enough for Hub to slam his
SHIELD on the windshield.
IN THE TAXI
Hub sits in back, hurtling into the night. The driver's ID
identifies him as ABDUL HASSAM. Hub shakes his head.
IN THE SHOWER
As the hot SPRAY hits him, he runs his hands through his
hair and feels the BITS OF SHATTERED GLASS. Dried blood runs
off in rivulets from his hands. Not his own. He leans against
the shower wall, closes his eyes.
CUT TO:
ELISE -- BRUTALLY SLAPPED ACROSS THE FACE
We are in her apartment. Samir looms over her.
SAMIR
You let him HIT ME --!! You cannot
care about me and let such things
happen!
ELISE
Next time don't be such a smart ass --
SAMIR
Sometimes I hate you just because
you are so American. It makes me
want to hurt you. I think about
fucking you and hurting you.
Elise can taste the blood in her mouth -- but it's the price
she's come to accept. In a heartbeat, it's all business.
ELISE
-- You want to fuck me? Then work
with me.
SAMIR
Don't tell me what I have to do.
ELISE
No? Do we really want to have this
conversation again? Do we --?
Something quietly ominous in her tone. He lowers his eyes.
And like a sailboat, Elise changes tack. Strokes his arm.
ELISE
I need you to help me. I need you to
be strong. As you have always been
strong. For both of us. -- Samir?
Look at me...
BACK TO HUB -- WHO AWAKENS IN THE DARKNESS
He's fallen asleep in a chair. In his lap is a pile of visa
applications. His BEEPER goes off. He rouses himself.
BACK TO ELISE -- ROUGHLY TURNED OVER IN BED BY SAMIR
Sex without any shred of tenderness. As Samir kisses the
back of her neck, we SEE in her eyes the thousand-yard stare.
BACK TO HUB -- ON THE STREET
In the doorway of an apartment building, Frank hands Hub a
styrofoam cup of coffee. It's a ritual between them.
BACK TO ELISE -- LYING IN BED AS SAMIR SMOKES
SAMIR
-- Some people just cannot live in
the camps. For my brother, it was
already like dying. The only thing
he lives for is movies.
He sits up in bed, reaching for another cigarette.
SAMIR
-- And then some sheik tells him
that, to die for Allah is beautiful.
If he does this thing, our parents
will be taken care of, and he will
live on in Paradise with seventy
virgins. Seventy.
(sighs)
And my brother, he needs to believe
it very much, so he straps ten sticks
of dynamite to his chest and goes to
the movies...
(a rueful laugh)
And I become a VIP. It is very
confusing.
ELISE
-- So who are you afraid of betraying?
You know these people. They bomb,
they maim. Do they represent the
Palestine you want to build?
(looks at him)
They're using you.
SAMIR
You are using me, too! Everybody
uses the Palestinians! We are the
whores of the Middle East!
(looks at her)
You make reports about our little
talks --? What about fucking me?
ELISE
I had to get special permission for
that.
As he stands up, naked, and goes to the window, we SEE:
THE SAME IMAGE
Seen again, FROM MUCH FARTHER AWAY by Hub who stands on a
ROOFTOP across the way, watching through 10×50 BINOCULARS.
Frank stands beside him.
FRANK
Beats cable.
Sequence omitted from original script.
Sequence omitted from original script.
Sequence omitted from original script.
Sequence omitted from original script.
THE FEDERAL BUILDING -- NEXT MORNING
Hub heads for his office, his SECRETARY nods inside. Someone
is waiting. It's Devereaux, in a civilian suit.
DEVEREAUX
Hi. I understand they call you Hub.
HUB
I know who you are, General.
DEVEREAUX
(offering his hand)
Bill Devereaux.
HUB
I served in the --
DEVEREAUX
82nd Airborne, I know. Same time I
was running the --
HUB
-- 173rd. Put me through school.
DEVEREAUX
God. Duty. Honor. Country. Where on
Capitol Hill, Wall Street, or
Hollywood would you find one man
who's even paused over one of those
words in the last ten years?
Hub is unsure why he's audience to such a command performance.
HUB
What, uh, brings you here, General?...
Can I get you some coffee?
DEVEREAUX
You want me to get to the point. The
President's concerned. He's worried
that -- have you met him by any
chance?
HUB
No, sir, I haven't. I know -- reading
the papers -- terrorism's a real
concern for him. And your job is to --
DEVEREAUX
-- With all the affection for the
man I can tell you he doesn't know
fuckall about terrorism, or the
Mideast, that I don't put on his cue
cards. What he's expert in is his
own survival. You get my meaning?
HUB
I didn't guess you came all this way
for a cup of coffee.
DEVEREAUX
Agent Hubbard -- you look like you
think I'm here to take your baby
away!
HUB
With all respect for your expertise,
sir. We're on track here.
DEVEREAUX
Which is what I said to the President --
the Army is not some big green police
department. Stick with the man on
the ground.
HUB
I appreciate your support.
DEVEREAUX
You're sure you're not chasing your
own tail, though?
Hub considers for a moment, then:
HUB
What do you know about Sheik Ahmed
Bin Talal?
DEVEREAUX
Old news.
HUB
Maybe not. We've received two
communications -- from the bombers
to "Release Him."
DEVEREAUX
We can't release him.
HUB
I know our stated policy is not to
negotiate with terrorists, but --
DEVEREAUX
Hub, we can't release him because we
don't have him. We never had him.
And besides that, he's dead.
HUB
The CIA says --
DEVEREAUX
The CIA? The CIA couldn't predict
the fall of the Berlin Wall until
bricks were hitting them in the head.
(resuming)
The Libyans snatched the Sheik --
some sectarian Muslim thing -- I'll
explain it next time you have a free
week. They killed him. Qaddafi put
out disinformation that it was us...
Who was your source on this?
HUB
Elise Kraft.
DEVEREAUX
...A woman will never know the Middle
East. You're talking about a culture
that keeps its women slipcovered.
Elise Kraft can't tell a Sheik from
the prophylactic of the same name.
HUB
I appreciate the heads up.
Devereaux rises, offers his hand. As they shake, Elise sticks
her head in the door without knocking.
ELISE
Hub, we've got Judge Frankel in --
(as Devereaux turns
around)
Oh. Hello, General.
DEVEREAUX
Please, don't let me --
ELISE
(to Hub)
Sorry. That tip on the landlord looks
solid. The judge will see us right
away.
DEVEREAUX
Sounds like I should get out of your
way. We're there if you need us.
(at the door; to Elise)
Your father well, Elise?
ELISE
As can be expected. How's Maggie?
DEVEREAUX
Top of her game.
(heads out)
Well, go get 'em.
And he's gone. Elise turns to Hub.
ELISE
Making new friends.
HUB
How's your lip --?
She looks at Hub -- and now she knows that he knows. She
brazens it out:
ELISE
So... you like to watch --?
HUB
No. Just learning about commitment.
ELISE
It's a full contact sport.
CUT TO:
JUDGE'S CHAMBERS -- DOWNTOWN
Judge Frankel, 60, puts down his sandwich and wipes his hands.
JUDGE FRANKEL
-- You're telling me that just because
some Brooklyn landlord tips you off
that he's been paid in cash, you
have the right to call in the cavalry --
! Hub, as far as I know, paying cash
is not yet a crime in this country.
HUB
You're not hearing me. This Khalil
was carrying cash for --
JUDGE FRANKEL
-- You've observed him giving cash
to --
HUB
... No, but --
JUDGE FRANKEL
-- But you have hard evidence linking
this apartment to the people that
blew up bus 87 --?
Elise sits quietly beside Frank, observing Hub's trials.
HUB
I know we'll turn up trace elements
of semtex, chemicals... something.
JUDGE FRANKEL
And when you do, you'll get your
warrant.
HUB
What about as a feasibility study?
JUDGE FRANKEL
Meaning?
HUB
We enter first, take a look, then
fill out the warrant.
JUDGE FRANKEL
Tell me the difference between that
and breaking-and-entering?
HUB
We're the good guys.
JUDGE FRANKEL
Not good enough.
HUB
What is good enough, Judge? Another
bus? A school, maybe. These things
come in waves.
JUDGE FRANKEL
Waves mean nothing to me; there's
been a wave of violent crime committed
by black people in this city for the
past twenty years, but if you came
to me with a plan to put all black
people behind bars as a preventative
measure I'd send you packing. There's
a price to be paid for living in a
free society --
HUB
-- and not in cash I guarantee it.
Hub catches Elise's eye -- "we're out of here."
THE STAIRCASE OF A TENEMENT
Elise and Hub climb seemingly endless FLIGHTS OF STAIRS.
ELISE
-- Not two Judges from now, not two
HOURS from now, not two MINUTES from
now. These guys could split any SECOND
and you've lost your best shot at --
HUB
Frank's working another warrant --
ELISE
You don't understand, they're pros!
From the age of twelve they've been
dodging people like you, people better
than you.
HUB
You mean people like you?
ELISE
-- no matter how sparkling your record
is, no matter how terrified you are
to fail --
Finally he stops, turns on her:
HUB
It's... against... the... law.
ELISE
-- Just because you went to night
school, or filled out the back of a
matchbook or whatever you did to get
a law degree doesn't make you Sir
Thomas More.
HUB
Just because you talk the talk doesn't
make you an expert. And just because
you read my file doesn't make you an
expert on me.
ELISE
You're gonna lose them and they're
gonna do another horrible --
HUB
-- You think I want to lose them.
Where do you get off talking that
shit.
(controls himself...)
If I don't take 'em down properly
they'll be on the street two hours
from now. I could find dynamite,
semtex, plutonium and a book of
matches in there and unless I've got
the right warrant it's all
inadmissible
ELISE
They've also got a warrant. A warrant
from God. They're ready to die! And
your quaint laws don't mean shit to
these people.
HUB
My quaint laws? Last I checked you
were an American citizen. And these
happen to be the only laws we got.
(turns on her)
Look, I'm just a cop, okay, and I'm
real sorry the cold war's over, and
you Masters of the Universe got
nothing going on over there in
Afghanistan or Iraq or wherever --
but you're just not in the Middle
East anymore...
ELISE
Oh, really...?
They reach the top of the stairs where Frank is waiting. He
dangles a piece of paper -- the warrant -- and grins.
IN THE SAME SQUALID APARTMENT BUILDING -- LATER
Hub looks through the surveillance equipment focused on an
apartment across the street -- paper shades drawn. Wearing a
set of HEADPHONES, Elise listens intently to the Arabic
conversation.
ELISE
They're discussing how hard it is to
find a decent cup of coffee over
here.
(hands headset to
Frank)
I make out three voices. What do you
have on the infrared?
FRANK
Three sounds right. If we had
microwave we'd know for sure. The
CIA's got microwave, how come we
don't have microwave.
Hub, meanwhile is question a Syrian Landlord.
LANDLORD
-- three of them. All day long they
watch tv. And eat pizza. Nothing but
pizza, pizza, pizza...
Hub looks over at Frank. They've got a way in.
CUT TO:
Sequence omitted from original script.
Sequence omitted from original script.
DARK HALLWAY -- DAY
Mike Johannson, carrying two PIZZAS, knocks on a door.
IN THE SHADOWS BELOW
Hub, Frank, and a small army of AGENTS lock and load.
A YOUNG ARAB
Opens the door to the length of a chain and hands Mike a
twenty-dollar bill.
MIKE
You want change, right --?
YOUNG ARAB
No.
MIKE
You gonna open the door, or what --?
The Arab motions, leave them on the ground.
MIKE
Jesus, didn't ya hear crime's down
seven-percent...
Muttering, he sets the pizza down and heads downstairs. After
a moment we HEAR the chain pulled and the door open.
IN THE APARTMENT
The Young Arab sets the pizza on an orange crate. Two other
YOUNG ARABS in the next room barely take their eyes off the
rerun of "Hunter." But as the young Arab opens the box:
A STUN GRENADE
Hidden within, EXPLODES with a blinding FLASH, knocking him
to the ground.
THE APARTMENT DOOR
Is blown in as armed AGENTS rush in, Hub leading the way.
FBI AGENTS
(English and Arabic)
FBI --! Lie down on the floor with
your hands behind your back --!
THE TWO OTHER YOUNG ARABS, HOWEVER --
Have not been affected. Not only were they in the next room,
but also their eyes were averted from the FLASH.
THEY COME UP FIRING
But only get off half a clip each before they are CUT DOWN
by a fusillade of FBI return-fire.
ON THE GROUND
The Young Arab, momentarily disoriented, stumbles to his
feet, only to be confronted by six armed agents -- all aiming
at his chest.
FRANK
Drop your weapon!
The terrorist puts his gun to his mouth and PULLS THE TRIGGER.
A STILLNESS
As the CORDITE drifts lazily toward the ceiling, Hub calls
out from behind the table:
HUB
What about the others? See if we can
get a pulse --
Other Agents scurry in to hover over the inert BODIES.
FRED
Terminal.
MIKE
Same here.
ELISE
(softly)
Gone.
Hub picks himself up in time to see Elise, kneeling beside
the body of the Young Arab, her hand on his boyish chest.
MIKE
We got semtex, we got detcord, same
stuff as the bus, the whole
enchilada...
A few WHOOPS and high-fives as the adrenaline rush of the
firefight abates. Frank opens the remaining box.
FRANK
Anybody like anchovies --?
Then from across the room, Hub kneels beside an ominous-
looking DEVICE. A claymore mine.
HUB
Goddamn it. GODDAMN IT.
FRANK
What --?
HUB
It didn't fire. They had it rigged
to the door and it didn't fire.
Frank stares at the lethal booby-trap. Hub shakes his head.
HUB
We're too old to be lucky, Frank.
CUT TO:
A DOWNTOWN BAR -- LATER THAT NIGHT
Where Mike and Tina are dancing their asses off. Around them,
other AGENTS from the takedown laugh and drink.
AT A NEARBY TABLE
Hub and Elise sit, watch them cut loose.
ELISE
(sips her drink)
My first boyfriend was Palestinian.
My father liked to say, they seduce
you with their suffering.
A WAITRESS brings her another drink.
ELISE
You ever been over there --?
(he shakes his head,
no)
...The courtesy with which they
welcome you into their homes. And
the people, these incredibly... warm
people in this... austere land.
HUB
But you work against them.
ELISE
Only the crazies. I tend to be
suspicious of all true believers.
(looks at him)
Present company included.
HUB
So I'm a fanatic.
ELISE
Let's just say you don't seem the
ambivalent type.
HUB
Is that right?
ELISE
So why're are you a fed?
HUB
That's what my nephew keeps asking
me. "Why you with The Man, Unc?"
ELISE
...Well? What'd you tell him?
HUB
You read my file. You tell me.
ELISE
Let's see... Catholic school. Captain
of this, president of that. Hard
work, fair play, make a difference,
change the system from within. Rah.
Rah. Rah.
HUB
That was in my file?
ELISE
...Tell me I'm wrong.
He studies her for a moment.
ELISE
...What --?
HUB
You believe in anything, Elise --?
ELISE
Like what, for instance?
HUB
How about right and wrong?
ELISE
It's easy to choose between right
and wrong. What's hard is choosing
the wrong that's more right. I just
want to make it all... a little...
better.
(finishes her drink)
Ignore me. I'm shitfaced.
Frank appears to lean over their table.
FRANK
So am I --! Hey, Elise... tell us
about being a spook? Ever meet Aldrich
Ames? Weren't you at the Bay of Pigs?
ELISE
You were in charge of Waco, right --
? Or was that Ruby Ridge?
FRANK
The Shah of Iran, Noriega, I love
the way you guys predicted the
collapse of the Soviet Union.
ELISE
Yeah, yeah, yeah... And J. Edgar
Hoover wore a dress.
She laughs and stands up to dance:
ELISE
What do you say, Hub...? Peace?
But as he grudgingly stands up, a BALLAD comes on. They stand
there awkwardly. Finally, he takes her into his arms.
ELISE
This feels like high school.
HUB
-- only my prom date wasn't packing
a gun.
ELISE
Mine's a 9 mm. How big is yours?
HUB
Two inches. From the ground.
(laughing, they dance
closer)
So what's the latest from Samir. I
want a list of every visa he
sponsored.
ELISE
Not sure he'll do it.
HUB
I once knew this undercover guy,
started to care so much about his
source --
ELISE
-- Samir's a source. Period.
HUB
Have you considered that he might
also be in bed with the other side?
ELISE
Samir in bed with them? That would
too much to wish for.
HUB
You're so confident.
ELISE
Only in bed.
Tina watches them. She rolls her eyes at Frank. And then:
THE GROUND SHAKES
A low RUMBLE as the light FLICKERS and the chandelier sways.
FRANK
Whoa... What do they put in these
drinks --?
TINA
They got earthquakes in Manhattan?
But Elise is not too drunk to make her way to the door. Hub
joins her. Already, in the distance, the WAILING OF SIRENS.
IN THE TOWN CAR -- SPEEDING UPTOWN ON MADISON AVE
Blue light FLASHING. Hub, Elise and Frank sit grimly silent.
TRAFFIC
Is snarled and gridlocked at 40th. Finally, they can take it
no longer and step out into a chorus of HONKING HORNS.
THEY BEGIN TO RUN
Past the frustrated drivers. Turning the corner at 41st where:
SMOKE BILLOWS
From the New Victory Theatre -- where a gala benefit is taking
place.
GIRL IN A PRADA GOWN
Walks toward CAMERA. She's stunning. From the jeweled
clutchbag to the tasteful necklace, everything is perfect,
except:
HER RIGHT ARM IS MISSING
And now we SEE:
THE BLACK-AND-WHITES
Haphazardly pulled-up over the steps and the FIRETRUCKS
already unspooling their hoses. Cops, Firemen, EMT's.
Everybody's SCREAMING. Hub and Elise race past.
MAN IN BLACK TIE
Sits, weeping quietly beneath the once proud stone lions.
THE FEW SURVIVORS
Their faces cut and bleeding, stumble around, disoriented.
As Hub and Elise continue toward a SOUND we have never heard
before in this country. A kind of keening.
A NYPD SERGEANT is the senior OFFICER on the scene. Hub shows
his shield to the man who appears a bit shell-shocked.
NYPD SERGEANT
-- fucking bastards waited 'til
intermission. Everybody standing
around... Oh, Jesus...
GLASS crunching underfoot, they can only watch as horribly
disfigured BODIES are carried out. A NEWS REPORTER shoves a
microphone in Hub's face.
NEWS REPORTER
Is it true the governor was attending
tonight's benefit --?
HUB
I don't know.
NEWS REPORTER
Who it is I'm speaking to --?
Hub ignores the reporter. He sees that Elise is already
tearing off part of her skirt to bandage a SOCIETY MATRON.
He takes off his coat and goes to work beside her.
CUT TO:
A DARKENED AIRPLANE
Hub sits alone.
PILOT (O.S.)
Folks, as you can probably tell, we
have begun our descent into
Washington's National airport.
THE HIGH-PITCHED WHISTLING SOUND IS HEARD AGAIN
Hub reaches up to his DAMAGED EARS. As anyone who's ever
flown with a sinus problem knows, the pain is excruciating.
STEWARDESS
-- You alright?
But we can only LIP-READ her question. He's sweating now.
Over this, we HEAR:
ARMY GENERAL (V.O.)
Either we answer this threat quickly
and convincingly or next week there'll
be a hundred more all over the world.
Sequence omitted from original script.
ON CAPITOL HILL -- LATER THAT DAY
As Hub climbs the steps toward the gleaming dome, the debate
continues within:
CONGRESSMAN MARSHALL (V.O.)
Sounds great, General, except why
can't we find out who's behind it --
?
IN THE ROTUNDA LIBRARY
A strategy session chaired by General Devereaux. Sleeves
rolled up, silver coffee service. Staff members abound.
FBI DIRECTOR
These sects are organized so you
need a kill to your credit to get
inside. It makes undercover operations
impossible. What that leaves us is...
we're working on it.
SENATOR WRIGHT
How about who's behind who's behind
this?
CIA DIRECTOR
Libya. Iraq. Iran. Possibly Syria.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Ask a question. Get an atlas.
SENATOR WRIGHT
All I know is that we must respond.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Respond, sure. But how?
SENATOR WRIGHT
Find out who it is and bomb the shit
out of them.
CHIEF OF STAFF
And if we can't find out --?
The question hangs in the air.
CONGRESSMAN MARSHALL
Look it keeps escalating. First a
bus, then the theatre. What's next?
SENATOR WRIGHT
Anything but leadership.
DEVEREAUX
With all respect, Senator, why don't
we just stipulate that the President
is a dumb son of a bitch so we can
all get down to business.
An icebreaker. Everyone laughs.
CONGRESSMAN MARSHALL (V.O.)
What about sending in the Guard?
ATTORNEY GENERAL (V.O.)
The National Guard are trained for
riot control not counter-terrorism.
SENATOR WRIGHT
The Army then. I've seen the
contingency plans.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
It's settled legal doctrine, posse
comitatus, that the Army not be turned
against our own people.
SENATOR WRIGHT
Even if that's what our own people
are asking for, three to one?
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
If the President is willing to declare
a State of Emergency --
SENATOR WRIGHT
President Lincoln declared martial
law in 1862. He suspended --
ATTORNEY GENERAL
-- which the Supreme Court later
found un-constitutional. Ex parte
Milligan.
CONGRESSMAN MARSHALL
And I've got an election in November.
Ex-United States Congressman.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Guys, guys, the President lost a lot
of friends last night --
CONGRESSMAN MARSHALL
Not to mention six points in the
polls.
CHIEF OF STAFF
-- And his plane lands in two hours.
We owe it to him to have a consensus.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
You don't fight a junkyard dog with
ASPCA rules. What you do is take the
leash off your own, bigger, meaner
dog.
CHIEF OF STAFF
...General?
DEVEREAUX
The Army is a broadsword not a
scalpel. You do not want us in an
American city.
CHIEF OF STAFF
But hypothetically... how long would
it take you to --
DEVEREAUX
We only go if the President invokes
the War Powers Act.
CHIEF OF STAFF
I understand that, General. Let us
imagine, though, for a moment, that
the order has been given.
CLOSE on Devereaux. As he weighs his remarks, we FLASHCUT,
almost imperceptibly to:
AN ANONYMOUS ROOM
As WATER is poured over anonymous hands in a ritualized
manner. O.S. we HEAR the SOUND of chanting.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM -- SAME TIME
DEVEREAUX
...Twelve hours after the President
gives the word we can be on the
ground. One light infantry division
of ten thousand seven hundred men.
Elements of the Rapid Deployment
Force combined with Special Forces --
Delta. APC's, tanks, helicopters.
And of course, the ubiquitous M-16A1
assault rifle, a humble weapon until
you see a man carrying one outside
your local bowling alley or Seven-
Eleven. It will be noisy, it will be
scary and it will not be mistaken
for a VFW parade.
BACK TO -- THE ANONYMOUS ROOM
Where the same anonymous hands lift a cotton shroud. We watch
in SLOW-MOTION as it drifts down a shoulder.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
DEVEREAUX
That means civilian casualties. At a
minimum it's a drunk private joyriding
in a Hummer who runs down an old
lady in Greenpoint. At a maximum...
(sighs)
Make no mistake. We will hunt the
enemy. We will find the enemy. And
we will kill the enemy.
BACK TO -- THE ANONYMOUS HANDS
Turning the key in an ignition. An engine rumbles to life.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
DEVEREAUX
(looks at them)
And no card-carrying member of the
ACLU is more deadset against it...
than I am. Which is why I urge you...
no, I implore you not to consider
this option.
A long beat. The Chief of Staff sighs.
CHIEF OF STAFF
I know what the President will say.
DEVEREAUX
What's that?
CHIEF OF STAFF
That's exactly why you're the only
man for the job.
BACK TO -- A VAN
Emerges from a dark garage like a beast from a cave.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
The Army General speaks up.
ARMY GENERAL
I remind you General Devereaux does
not speak for official Army policy.
A police function has become accepted
as our role in Haiti, in Somalia --
HUB
-- Could I interrupt?
Everyone looks over at Hub. Devereaux smiles.
DEVEREAUX
That's Anthony Hubbard, FBI. He's
the ASAC on the ground up there.
They took out the first cell less
than 36 hours after bus 87. I suggest
we hear what he has to say --
He nods to Hub, who acknowledges the vote of confidence.
HUB
There is something you probably
haven't thought about doing?
CHIEF OF STAFF
And that is --?
HUB
Nothing. Don't over-react.
(off their incredulity)
With all respect, gentlemen, I'm
just a cop. To you these people may
be martyrs, but to me they're
criminals. And a criminal is no more
than somebody who thinks he's better
than everyone else. And he's not
better. He only has to be wrong once.
And that's where we come in. We run
down a tip from a landlord, or we
pick up a latent print from a bus.
Our phones are ringing off the hook
with people from the Arab community
wanting to help.
He measures his words carefully. Unaccustomed to these kind
of august circumstances.
HUB
They love this country and they hate
that these criminals are giving them
a bad name. With their help and some
old-fashioned shoe leather, we'll
nail these guys.
DEVEREAUX
-- Amen to that.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Thank you, Agent Hubbard. I, too,
think we should proceed cautiously.
(looks around)
Now we've got an Agency briefing
prepared... Some of you may not know
Sharon Bridger. Sharon was posted in
Iraq as part of our covert operations
during the Gulf War. -- Sharon...
CLOSE ON -- HUB as, from behind him, comes a familiar VOICE:
ELISE
We all know the traditional model of
a terrorist network. One cell
controlling all others. Cut off the
head and the body will wither.
Hub looks to the back of the room at Elise, who's no longer
Elise. She looks blithely at Hub as if nothing is amiss.
ELISE
Unfortunately the old wisdom no longer
applies. The new paradigm is like
the myth of the Hydra. Each cell
exists independent of the other. Cut
off one head and another rises up in
its place.
ANOTHER FLASH CUT -- THE VAN
Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, keeping well below the speed
limit. In the distance, the glass towers of Manhattan.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
ELISE
Bus 87 was the work of Cell #1. Its
elimination only activated the work
of Cell #2 -- the theatre gala.
FLASH CUT -- THE VAN
Turns up Wall Street. Frank Haddad and Danny exit THE FEDERAL
BUILDING. They pass Mike and Fred, heading back in. Something
about the van causes Frank to take notice.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
CHIEF OF STAFF
And Cell #3? How do we find Cell #3?
Everyone looks to Sharon/Elise. Hub looks at her, too.
CLOSE ON -- SHARON/ELISE
The question hangs in the air. She's thinking about something.
What?
ANOTHER FLASH CUT -- THE VAN
JUMPS THE CURB and heads across the plaza on A COLLISION
COURSE with the glass lobby of the FEDERAL BUILDING. Frank
and Danny are rooted to the ground.
BACK TO -- THE SITUATION ROOM
Close on Sharon/Elise. As time elongates. She knows.
ELISE
We don't know.
Sequence omitted from original script.
DISSOLVE TO:
WHITE SCREEN (ALL SOUND OUT)
Puffy clouds in a blue sky. As we TILT DOWN into:
THE GUTTED RUIN
Of what was once the Federal Building. RESCUE WORKERS hunt
for SURVIVORS as others carry BODY BAGS toward waiting
AMBULANCES. Hub stands sentinel to the grisly process as
indeed he has stood there all night. Frank is beside him.
HUB
-- Are they confirmed?
FRANK
Fred, Whitney, we're waiting on who
else...
A JEEP pulls up and Elise/Sharon gets out.
HUB
Sharon.
Their silence speaks volumes. With Sharon is an OFFICER.
ELISE
This is Colonel Hardwick. Army
Intelligence.
HUB
(shaking hands)
Anthony Hubbard. Average intelligence.
(clocking him)
But 'til I hear otherwise this is
still my show.
COL. HARDWICK
I'm here as an advisor only. I intend
to keep a low profile.
HUB
I appreciate that, Colonel.
COL. HARDWICK
I don't mean to be insensitive, but
what, exactly, are your capabilities
at this point? Your... infrastructure --
HUB
You're standing on our infrastructure.
Excuse me.
Hub walks back toward the rubble. Sharon watches him go.
CUT TO:
HUB'S APARTMENT -- THAT NIGHT
Sofas have been pushed against the wall. Hub's apartment now
serves as a temporary command post. Agents huddle together --
poring over the charred or soggy remnants of files.
FLOYD
-- They managed to get a partial
VIN# off the van. DMV says it was
reported stolen the day before in --
HUB
-- Brooklyn.
DANNY
Fiber thinks they've come up with a
piece of the shroud. Egyptian cotton.
Frank joins them.
FRANK
(grim)
We just got a confirmation on Mike.
He was with Fred in the lobby.
HUB
How many does that make it --?
A KNOCK on the door. They look at one another. One of the
agents answers it. Elise/Sharon. She walks over to them.
ELISE
I'm... very sorry... about your
friends.
HUB
(giving her nothing)
Frank. This is Sharon.
(to her)
-- I didn't catch the last name.
ELISE
...Bridger. How ya doin' Frank?
FRANK
Been better.
She nods. Takes from her purse a folder, labeled in Hebrew.
ELISE
The agency has come up with another
list of probables.
She takes out photos. Neither Hub nor Frank react. She puts
them on the coffee table. No one reaches for them.
ELISE
I think we should circulate them.
(they stonewall her:)
Hey, this stuff may be good.
HUB
Why was there no warning from Samir?
ELISE
Because he didn't know anything.
FRANK
Says Samir.
ELISE
Says me.
HUB
Maybe I'll ask him.
ELISE
Over my dead body.
HUB
Over six hundred dead bodies.
They stare at one another. Both are tired and raw.
ELISE
Look, he's one of the good guys.
Okay?
HUB
How the fuck can you be so sure?
ELISE
Because he helped me recruit the
network in Iraq. OKAY?
He just stares at her.
ELISE
We were part of the operation to
destabilize Saddam Hussein. Printing
up fake dinars, arming the Kurds --
HUB
-- and financing the Sheik.
ELISE
He's Iraqi. He was going to be our
Ayatollah Khomeini --
HUB
-- And help bring down Saddam.
ELISE
I ran the network. Samir was the go-
between. He risked his life for us
over there.
HUB
So who are they? Give me names, Give
me pictures. Not some history lesson.
ELISE
I can't give you pictures because I
don't know what they look like. We
did everything at arm's length.
HUB
So you got nothing.
ELISE
I've got Samir.
HUB
Has he had any contact with them?
ELISE
Minimal.
HUB
How does he do it?
ELISE
He can't. They initiate.
HUB
And otherwise...
ELISE
He's waiting.
HUB
He's waiting? What's he waiting for?
More bodies? We got lots more
buildings in midtown, maybe he's
waiting to see how many they can
blow up.
ELISE
Look, I know how you must feel --
HUB
YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT HOW I FEEL -- MY
FRIENDS ARE DEAD. HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
ARE DEAD.
ELISE
They'll make contact soon.
HUB
How?... Why soon?
She looks at him, refusing to divulge anything more. Suddenly,
Hub grabs her arm and roughly shoves her into:
THE BATHROOM
HUB
(viciously)
What's the tradecraft, Sharon?
Ironsites, visuals? I love all that
spy shit.
(still, she says
nothing)
I'm gonna haul your boy downtown,
strap his ass to a polygraph and ask
him all about you. Then I'm gonna
send the transcripts to a friend of
mine at the Times who just loves to
write about the latest CIA link to
some political horror show.
ELISE
You burn him, you lose any chance
you ever had.
HUB
It's lose-lose from here on in, who
said that?
ELISE
I'm not fucking with you.
HUB
How can you possibly remember who
you're fucking?
She slaps him, hard. Without hesitation he slaps her back.
She claws at his face, but he grabs her wrist and bends her
arm behind her back.
ELISE
I need... more time. Please. You're
hurting me. Please...
Something in the violence of the moment is more than a little
charged.
CUT TO:
VARIOUS SHOTS -- THE SURVEILLANCE OF SHARON AND SAMIR
A dead drop by a hot dog stand. Out for her morning jog. A
series of FREEZE FRAMES as the motordrive CLICKS AND WHIRS.
FRANK (V.O.)
That's good sound.
HUB (V.O.)
Except they're not saying anything
worth listening to.
Sequence omitted from original script.
IN A HAMMAM (BATH-HOUSE)
Samir chats with a couple of older men in the steaming waters.
MORE FREEZE FRAMES:
FRANK (V.O.)
One's his uncle, he owns the place.
The other's a doctor. They check out
clean.
HUB (V.O.)
He go there every day?
FRANK (V.O.)
A clean body and a pure heart.
Sequence omitted from original script.
Sequence omitted from original script.
A TV LOGO: FOX NEWS SPECIAL REPORT: NEW YORK UNDER SIEGE
NEWSCASTER (V.O.)
"Tonight we take a close look at the
tragic sight of a city under siege."
HUB'S APARTMENT
Hub sits on his sofa, watching the special report. Spread
out before him, the surveillance PHOTOS of Sharon and Samir.
VIDEO CLIPS
A deserted Times Square. Police checking packages of shoppers
in front of a department store. Long lines of security at
bus stops.
EXT. DOWNTOWN - NEXT MORNING
Hub and Frank are walking downtown. At a stoptlight, A BUS
idles beside them, a POLICEMAN onboard.
RADIO DJ (V.O.)
-- claiming responsibility for the
bombing. In other news, a cab driver
was beaten and his cab set on fire.
The driver, Rashid Abu --
ANOTHER CAR. TALK RADIO:
TALK RADIO (O.S.)
-- the Jews, man. When they say,
jump, we say, how high. I say we --
FRANK
-- If you're on the State Department
Terrorist Watch list you cannot get
into this country. But Ali Waziri
was on the watch list, and he got
in.
HUB
Did you call the State Department?
FRANK
They told me to call INS.
HUB
-- And?
FRANK
They told me to call State.
HUB
Don't you just love government?
THE EXPLOSION
Is only the BUS backfiring. PEDESTRIANS who have thrown
themselves to the ground, screaming, now pick themselves up,
Laughing. Only Hub and Frank are not laughing.
NEWS ANCHOR DESK
NEWSCASTER
"As many fled, there were others who
stayed behind to pay the price...
VIDEO CLIPS
Jammed freeways; A LOOTED corner deli, its Arab owners,
bloodied: POLICE checking backpacks at an elementary school.
NEWSCASTER (V.O.)
Today, as hundreds of law enforcement
officials gathered in a Broadway
theatre, outside people wanted
answers.
VIDEO CLIPS
Angry people, scared people. Hub, being interviewed about
the coordinated efforts of law enforcement.
NEWSCASTER (V.O.)
Already there is talk of a protest
march by a coalition of --
INSIDE THE THEATRE (A VIDEO CLIP TURNS BACK TO FILM)
Hub and a few others sit on the stage. Two hundred law
enforcement officials fill the orchestra seats.
MAYORAL AA (V.O.)
THE PEOPLE OF THIS CITY HAVE A RIGHT --
DANNY (V.O.)
-- THE PURPOSE OF THIS MEETING --!
MAYORAL AA
-- IS TO MAKE THIS CITY SAFE...! And
your department --
DANNY
My department WHAT, ASSHOLE...?
Sharon stands at the back, meets Hub's eye, and waves.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Guys... GUYS...
EVERYBODY'S talking at once. In frustration, Hub covers a
microphone with his hand. The FEEDBACK silences the room.
HUB
Sorry. From now on, we will raise
our hands and wait to be called on --
An appreciative chuckle. Hub points to A MAN IN A SUIT.
INS OFFICIAL
Howard Kaplan. INS. So we've pulled
every ethnic visa in the city and
traced them to source. Who wants em?
HUB
Danny --?
DANNY
We bring 'me in, have a talk.
UNIFORM COP (V.O.)
What about translators --?
DISTRICT ATTORNEY (V.O.)
How many people we talking about
here?
INS OFFICIAL
Sixteen hundred, maybe more.
DANNY
Where the hell we gonna put sixteen
hundred people?
Everyone again begins speaking at once. Hub takes control.
MAN IN SUIT
What about a military presence at
JFK and LaGuardia --?
HUB
I don't think we're there yet. It's
also not going to stop these people.
MAYORAL AA
What about protecting the Arab
population? There's a lot of anger --
ARAB SPOKESMAN (V.O.)
I represent the American-Arab Anti-
Discrimination Committee. Whatever
injustices my people may be suffering
at this difficult moment, we will
continue to show our patriotism and
our commitment to this country.
HUB
Thank you, sir. And to everyone else
for their patience today. These are
extremely difficult times -- London,
Paris, we're not the first city to
have to deal with this.
He pauses a moment, searching for the words.
HUB
In Tel Aviv, the day after they blew
up the market, the market was full.
(looks out at them)
This is New York. We can take it.
And then two hundred BEEPERS all go off at once. Everyone
looks at one another. Dear God, what now...
A GRAINY BLACK & WHITE VIDEO IMAGE
Kids, huddled in a corner, crying. A dead mom. The legs of
what we imagine is the terrorist. We are in:
AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL -- AN UPSTAIRS HALLWAY
Hub huddles with other agents behind a makeshift blast-
barricade of desks and tables. Sharon kneels beside them.
DANNY
-- one of the moms was carrying a
piece, wounds the guy as he's planting
the device. He kills her and locks
them all in.
(points at video)
Up there in the corner... by the
clock.
The probe is a hot-head, "arthroscopic" video camera.
DANNY
-- It's got a timer on it only we
don't know how much time is left.
As Hub stares at the horrifying image, the WHITE-NOISE returns
and begins to GROW in his head.
HUB
Closer on the timer.
TECHNICIAN
I'm trying but the angle's wrong...
The NOISE in Hub's head continues to grow. And then suddenly
it is compounded by the SOUND of an APPROACHING CHOPPER --
as an NYPD SWAT HELICOPTER lowers itself into view.
FRANK
What the fuck is the NYPD doing here?!
DANNY
I don't know. Somebody must have --
FRANK
-- WE'VE RUN DRILLS ON THIS
JURISDICTION BULLSHIT SINCE --
DANNY
I KNOW --! YOU THINK I --
HUB
QUIT BICKERING AND FIX IT!
In the HELICOPTER -- a Marksman raises a sniper's rifle.
THE WHITE NOISE
Is screaming now in Hub's head. Unimaginable. Unbearable.
DANNY
(on his radio)
NYPD SWAT, this is the FBI. Get that
bird the fuck out of there!
The SOUND of the CHOPPER and the WHITE NOISE drown him out.
ON THE VIDEO MONITOR
Children are SCREAMING without sound. Even the chopper is
drowned out by the WHITE NOISE.
IN THE CHOPPER
The MARKSMAN takes careful aim --
IN THE CLASSROOM
The TERRORIST grabs a child as a human shield. Hub closes
his eyes to the imminent nightmare, and then:
SUDDENLY, WITHOUT WARNING --
He takes off, barreling down the hall, toward the locked
door of the classroom.
THE DOOR SPLINTERS
He flies through it, firing, hitting the TERRORIST twice.
AN EXPLOSION
Much like the first one on Bus 99. Hub throws himself over
several SCREAMING CHILDREN. And for a moment we don't know
if they'll live or die, until:
BLUE PAINT covers them all. Agents pour in, followed by
Sharon. There, on the floor, holding as many weeping children
as he can:
HUB
Who, unable to keep up the facade for a single second more,
is also weeping now. Weeping for the victims of the bombings,
weeping for the children who've survived, weeping for himself.
And for a moment, everyone just... stands there, vaguely
embarrassed, and more than a little moved.
INT. HUB'S APARTMENT - THAT NIGHT
Hub sits in his boxers, toweling blue paint from his hair,
listening to the CNN report of the school attack. A KNOCK at
the door. He pulls on his pants. It's Sharon.
ELISE
This just came in.
She hands Hub another fax: "Last Warning. Release Him." He
looks at it and hands it back to her without a word.
ELISE
You alright?
HUB
My neck's a little stiff, that's
all.
ELISE
(a long look)
That's not what I meant.
HUB
I know.
They stand awkwardly in the doorway for a moment.
HUB
You want a drink?
ELISE
Sure.
He walks over and opens a bottle of scotch.
ELISE
That was a pretty crazy thing you
did today.
He doesn't respond. Hands her the drink.
HUB
Better days.
She takes a drink. Then another.
ELISE
I wanted to -- I... just didn't feel
like... being alone... tonight.
HUB
Where's Samir?
ELISE
I could call him. Maybe he'd join
us.
HUB
You'd like that.
ELISE
I might. Or I could call Tina.
HUB
555-6354.
They stare at each other.
ELISE
Look, I thought Samir'd be an easy
recruit. He wasn't. It was crazy but
I did what I had to do.
(looks at him)
You know as well as I do, running an
agent can be very... complicated.
HUB
How about running an FBI agent?
ELISE
You think I'm trying to run you?
HUB
(looks at her)
...Why else are you here?
ELISE
(staring right back)
...You know why I'm here.
It's a charged moment. They're two sad and lonely people.
ELISE
Tell me to leave.
HUB
Leave.
ELISE
No.
When they embrace, their ferocity and desperation is something
more than comfort and less than love.
Sequence omitted from original script.
CUT TO:
THE CHIEF OF STAFF'S OFFICE -- NIGHT
The Chief of Staff is working late in a cardigan sweater.
Devereaux, in his impeccable suit, stands opposite him. Even
at ease he is smartly erect.
CHIEF OF STAFF
The FBI received another fax.
DEVEREAUX
Ahmed Bin Talal. They're still under
the impression that we have him.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Do we? Have him?
DEVEREAUX
To refresh your memory, as I told
you last time, it was the Libyans
who --
CHIEF OF STAFF
I remember perfectly well what you
said last time.
(looks at him)
Do we?
Devereaux frosts him with a look.
DEVEREAUX
Let me give you some free advice,
son. Don't get between me and the
President. You might break a nail.
CHIEF OF STAFF
I am speaking for the President.
He and Devereaux look at each other. It is the moment of
plausible deniability.
DEVEREAUX
As far as the President is
concerned... No, we do not.
The Chief of Staff accepts the answer because it serves him,
for now. And because he has a more pressing agenda.
CHIEF OF STAFF
General, do you know that after
yesterday's attack, half the parents
in this country kept their children
out of school --?
(Devereaux nods)
...They're attacking our way of life.
It's got to stop. And the President
cannot afford to be weak.
DEVEREAUX
(reading the subtext)
Are you saying the President is
prepared to take the necessary
steps...?
CHIEF OF STAFF
I'm saying, the President is prepared
to be... Presidential.
CUT TO:
HUB'S APARTMENT - DAWN
A ringing phone. Hub wakes up in a tangle of sheets. He looks
around and realizes he is alone. Did last night even happen?
HUB
(on the phone)
Hubbard... What --? ...Slow down,
slow down --
He reaches for the remote control, turns on the TV.
CUT TO:
A GRINDING OF TREADS ON ASPHALT -- DAWN
as THE FIRST APC enters Brooklyn. Followed by another. And
another. And in a sound bite: General Devereaux, IN FATIGUES
FOR THE FIRST TIME, and looking like grim death.
DEVEREAUX
Today, with the invocation of the
War Powers Act by the President, I
am declaring a state of martial law
in this city.
THE BATTLE OF BROOKLYN HAS BEGUN
Road blocks set up at select intersections. Random stop-and-
frisk. Patrols of young soldiers in the streets. GANG KIDS,
same age, same color, eye them warily.
DEVEREAUX
To the best of our knowledge, we are
opposed by no more than twenty of
the enemy. He is hiding among a
population of roughly two million.
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
Is closed. SOLDIERS in full battle-dress stop cars, check
trunks, handbags, briefcases, and id's. THE LINE OF HONKING,
ANGRY MOTORISTS stretches as far as the eye can see.
DEVEREAUX
Intelligence tells us he is most
likely Arab-speaking, between the
age of fourteen and thirty. Narrowing
the target to fifteen thousand
suspects.
A SWARTHY TEENAGER is pulled from A CAR by a SERGEANT and
led away to a CAMOUFLAGED TENT set up on the bridge.
DEVEREAUX
We can further reduce that number
down to those who have been in this
country less than six months. Now
you have twenty hiding among two
thousand.
A CAR TRUNK is inspected. Two women waved through.
DEVEREAUX
If you are one of these twenty young
men, you can hide among a population
of similar ethnic background.
Unfortunately for you, you can only
hide there. And that population, in
the classic immigration pattern, is
concentrated. Right here in Brooklyn.
Hub and Sharon stare at the Orwellian tableau.
DEVEREAUX
We intend to seal off this borough.
And then we intend to squeeze it.
This is the land of opportunity,
gentlemen. The opportunity to turn
yourselves in. After sundown tonight
any young man fitting the profile I
described who has not cooperated
will be arrested and detained.
Hub and Sharon show their ID's to an MP.
MP
Would you follow me, please. The
General is expecting you.
He leads him to A CAMOUFLAGED TENT on the service roadway.
DEVEREAUX
There is historically nothing more
corrosive to the morale of an army
than policing its own citizens.
IN THE TENT
The swarthy teenager is being interrogated by COL. HARDWICK.
DEVEREAUX
But the enemy would be sadly mistaken
if they were to doubt our resolve.
They are now face to face with the
most fearsome killing machine in the
history of man. And I intend to use
it. And be back on base in time for
the play-offs... That is all.
Devereaux sees Hub and strides over to him:
DEVEREAUX
Hub. Good to see you again.
HUB
I can't say the same, sir. Not in
that uniform. I thought you were
against this.
DEVEREAUX
I am against it. It wasn't my call.
HUB
"I'm only following orders" didn't
work at Nuremberg. It may not be
your policy but they're your tactics.
DEVEREAUX
Your operation had its chance, Hub,
and you couldn't get it done. You're
down three touchdowns. Time to bring
in the first string.
HUB
Against our own team?
Devereaux suddenly goes ice cold.
DEVEREAUX
Are you questioning my patriotism?
HUB
I'm questioning your judgement, yes,
sir.
DEVEREAUX
Hub, I want you to take a moment and
reflect on my life as a soldier. I
have a dozen tropical diseases I'll
never entirely get rid of. I set off
metal detectors with the shrapnel in
my ass. I have watched men die and I
have killed. Now I am serving my
President and quite possibly not the
best interests of my country, but my
profession doesn't afford me the
luxury of that distinction. I won't
question your patriotism but don't
you ever again question my command.
HUB
I'm not under your command, General.
DEVEREAUX
Take a good look around, my friend,
and tell me that's still true.
(softening his tone)
But we're not shutting you out. In
fact, I can't do it without you,
Hub. I need men like you. Men willing
to put it on the line like you did
in that schoolroom.
(gestures to his
uniform)
These stars mean I have been putting
it on the line for thirty years...
and never made a mistake worth
remembering. Don't tell me I made a
mistake about you.
ON THE BRIDGE -- MOMENTS LATER
Hub and Sharon exit the command tent.
HUB
(ironic)
They're not shutting us out. They
need men like me.
ELISE
He'll fuck it up, the arrogant prick.
You ever met anybody so in love with
the sound of his own voice?
HUB
We're putting Samir in play.
ELISE
Now? With all this going on? He's
freaked.
HUB
Oh, right, he's high-strung. Only
you can manage him. You and the CIA
and the DIA and God-knows-who-else
you're really working for --!
(seething)
Get back in there, Sharon, Elise,
whatever the fuck your name is --
They'll probably make you a Colonel...
if you're not one already.
She gestures at the military leviathan.
ELISE
All this... is no more in our interest
than it is in yours, Hub.
HUB
What, exactly, are your interests,
Sharon? You protect Samir, you protect
the agency. You're interested in
protecting everything but your
country.
ELISE
You have no idea what I do for my
country.
HUB
No, and I don't want to know. With
you or without you we're putting
Samir in play. Now.
She looks at him for a long moment. Considering:
ELISE
One more lamb to the slaughter.
CUT TO:
A HALF-OPENED DOOR OF AN APARTMENT
Samir looks and sees Hub, standing beside Sharon.
SAMIR
Oh, my God. Oh, my God...
He tries to SLAM the door, but they force it open. He grabs
A FAT JOINT from an ashtray and hurries into the bathroom.
HUB
(to Sharon)
Does he understand the difference
between the FBI and the DEA?
ELISE
Samir... It's fine, he's cool.
OUTSIDE, the sound of gunfire. Samir reappears, wild-eyed.
SAMIR
Listen to that --! Are you listening?
They're killing Arabs out there!
HUB
You can stop it all right now.
SAMIR
What are you talking about --? The
army is here. They're setting up
interrogation centers right now.
They're torturing people in cellars.
HUB
Let's just calm down for a second...
SAMIR
-- I've got to get out of here. You
have to help me --
He goes over and peers out the drawn curtains.
HUB
(gentling a horse)
We'll take care of you... don't worry.
You just have to calm down --
SAMIR
Money... I must have more money...
HUB
-- You got a student visa for Ali
Waziri. Because... somebody asked
you to -- Didn't they --?
SAMIR
I... got it myself.
Sharon CRACKS him across the face.
ELISE
Liar --!
Now it's Samir's turn to taste the blood in his mouth.
ELISE
You... tell him... what he wants to
know.
HUB
(to Sharon)
Hey, that's enough.
ELISE
He knows. He fucking knows.
SAMIR
She's crazy. They're ghosts. Jinn.
They'd never trust someone like me.
ELISE
Stop simpering.
SAMIR
Please...
ELISE
I've got a picture of the two of us,
do you remember that picture, Samir?
(the mask coming off:)
I'm going to post that picture in
every mosque in Brooklyn. And then
I'm gonna send copies to some friends
of mine on the West Bank. You've got
family there, don't you --?
Hub jumps up, takes Sharon by the arm.
ELISE
Let go of me --
He gives her the BUM'S RUSH out of the apartment, shuts the
door, then turns back to Samir, who sits, ashen-faced.
HUB
Now... Nobody's going to burn you,
nobody's going to call anybody --
(sits beside him)
-- Who asked you to get that visa?
Samir is trembling. Tears roll down his cheeks.
HUB
Don't be afraid. I can protect you.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
SAMIR
I'm afraid of going to hell.
Hub just sits there. He knows he's got him. Finally:
SAMIR
His name is Tariq Husseini. He runs
an auto shop.
(Hub waits for more --)
...on Commerce Street in Red Hook.
HUB
(hands him a card)
My beeper number. Anybody messes
with you, I'm there in twenty minutes.
He gets up and walks into:
THE HALLWAY
Where Sharon waits. As they head for the stairs we HEAR:
ELISE (V.O.)
You're good.
HUB (V.O.)
You're not so bad yourself.
But we are HEARING IT along with:
COL. HARDWICK
In a nearby SURVEILLANCE VEHICLE -- where, through the newest
microwave technology (the kind the FBI don't yet have), he
has OVERHEARD the entire conversation.
ON A NOTEPAD
In his lap, the name, "Tariq Husseini."
CUT TO:
OUTSIDE SAMIR'S APARTMENT
They are in a housing project. Hub dials his cell phone.
ELISE
You calling Devereaux.
HUB
Didn't get his number. Darn.
(on the phone)
Floyd, Hub. We need to put something
together in a big-ass hurry... Where's
Frank --?... Give him a 911.
A YELLOW SCHOOL BUS pulls up beside them and armed soldiers
hop out. Sharon watches them as Hub continues:
HUB
(on the phone)
-- and find some kind of beat-up
car... Well, beat it up yourself if
you have to... 896 Commerce St...
it's a garage in Red Hook... but
remember --
(looks at her)
-- they're pros.
A PSY-OPS VAN passes by, broadcasting through a P.A.
VAN LOUDSPEAKER
-- all persons without proper
authorization must be off the street
until seven a.m. Failure to comply
will result in immediate arrest.
The announcement is then repeated in Arabic.
ROUNDING A CORNER
They come upon several more YELLOW SCHOOL BUSES. From within
the various apartments the SHRILL PROTESTS of mothers and
sisters as YOUNG MEN fitting the "terrorist profile" are
hustled into the BUSES.
HUB
Jesus...
ELISE
Tariq will go to ground.
HUB
We can hit him in less than an hour.
ELISE
(turns to leave)
Hit him hard.
HUB
Where are you going?
ELISE
I've got to stash Samir someplace
safe.
(as she goes)
Go with God.
Hub hurries on toward his car, passing TEENAGE GIRLS,
defiantly wearing Keffiyahs, who mill about, taunting soldiers
with obscenities in English and Arabic.
AN APC drives past, further inflaming their passions.
Suddenly, A volley ROCKS AND BOTTLES come hurtling out of
nowhere, smashing harmlessly against the armor. The teenagers
laugh.
And then, the sudden CONCUSSION of a small BLAST from UP THE
STREET. The teenagers SCREAM and scatter. Hub SPRINTS toward
A SMOKING CAR, pulling his weapon from his hip.
A SOLDIER IS ROLLING ON THE GROUND, SCREAMING beside a PARKED
CAR. His leg is shredded. ARMORED JEEPS come squealing around
a corner. M-16's are locked, loaded and leveled at Hub.
HUB
FBI --! FBI --!
For a moment, it's touch-and-go as the the terrified RECRUITS,
just weeks out of basic training, decide whether to SHOOT.
On the ground, the injured soldier keeps SCREAMING.
HUB
Now... I'm gonna... reach... into my
jacket... and show you... my shield.
YOUNG SOLDIER
Drop your weapon --!
Hub drops the gun and shows his credentials. The young soldier
approaches warily as MEDICS attend to the wounded man.
YOUNG SOLDIER
Sorry, Sir. Somebody's booby-trapping
cars... We're all a little spooked.
The RATTLE of small-arms fire is HEARD from up the street.
In the distance, a running FIGURE is chased by three SOLDIERS.
The transformation is complete: Brooklyn as Gaza.
REACHING HIS CAR
Hub climbs in. On a nearby pock-marked wall, a single word,
"Intifada."
CUT TO:
EXT. AN OLD WAREHOUSE -- LATER
Hub, who sits in a beat-up old car, a baseball cap worn
backwards on his head. He keys his radio.
HUB
All Units, report in turn. If talking
will reveal your position, just key
your walkie...
AN OLD WAREHOUSE -- RED HOOK
Inside, an AUTO GARAGE. Hoists, compression cylinders,
archwelders. Outside, two WINOS share a bottle by the curb.
A BEAT-UP DODGE drives up. In it, two scruffy-looking Black
MEN. Upon close inspection we realize that one is Hub. The
other is Floyd.
HUB
(to a mechanic)
Yo...
The mechanic looks out from under a car. He's Hispanic.
MECHANIC
Que Pasa?
HUB
Tariq around?
The mechanic gestures to a partitioned-office in the back.
As Hub heads toward it, he checks out the other workers: a
teenager doing a compression check, another fixes a tire.
IN THE OFFICE
Tariq is on the phone talking in Arabic as Hub enters.
HUB
Tariq?
Tariq holds up a finger, hold on. Hub sits opposite him.
TARIQ
How can I help you.
HUB
You're Tariq Husseini?
TARIQ
He's out.
HUB
Damn. Do you think you could give
him a message?
TARIQ
Of course.
HUB
Tell him the FBI is after him.
TARIQ
You're joking.
HUB
Very... slowly... put your hands on
top of the table.
Tariq notices that Hub's hands are out of sight beneath the
table. Hub draws back the slide of his the weapon with an
audible CLICK. Tariq mutters a CURSE in Arabic.
HUB
That wouldn't be a racist epithet,
now would it? Stand up.
As Tariq stands, Hub crosses behind him, kicks out his legs,
pats him down, and cuffs him.
MEANWHILE -- IN THE WAREHOUSE
The two winos have revealed themselves as shotgun-wielding
FBI agents and are now ROUSTING the garage workers.
HUB
Where are the others?
TARIQ
What others?
But before Hub can answer, an AMPLIFIED VOICE is heard.
PSY-OPS (V.O.)
Tariq Husseini, this is the United
States Army. You are surrounded.
Hub is as surprised as Tariq.
PSY-OPS
You have thirty seconds to throw out
any weapons and exit the premises
with your hands on top of your head.
One of the agents with the shotgun calls out.
SHOTGUN AGENT
-- Sir?
HUB
Do as he says.
As Hub hustles Tariq to his feet, the other agents start to
hustle the workers out of door, when:
THE YOUNG MECHANIC
Reaches into his overalls.
SHOTGUN AGENT
FREEZE--!
But when the Mechanic pulls his hand out from his overalls,
all he is holding is the pin to a GRENADE.
THE EXPLOSION
Kills both the FBI agents and their prisoners. Hub throws
Tariq to the ground.
FROM AN UPPER WINDOW
An AUTOMATIC WEAPON opens fire on the Army presence.
HIGH ABOVE -- IN A CHOPPER
Devereaux responds with a dispassionate intensity.
DEVEREAUX
Code blue.
His order unleashes an overwhelming display of FIREPOWER.
INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE
Hub and Tariq crawl for cover as windows EXPLODE, walls are
SHREDDED, and incendiary TRACER rounds mix with solvents and
gasoline to start a conflagration. With the vaguely
hallucinatory quality of the S.L.A. shootout, WHITE NOISE
bleeds in and ALL SOUND FADES OUT:
AN M-60 TANK (SILENT)
Races in from around the corner, only to be hit by A ROCKET-
PROPELLED GRENADE fired through the second floor window.
INT. CHOPPER
DEVEREAUX
Code Red.
TWO APACHE ATTACK HELICOPTERS (SILENT)
Appear from their hiding place behind a nearby building. As
they dive into their attack trajectory --
HUB (SILENT)
Crawls, dragging Tariq toward the doors as:
THE CHAIN GUN (SILENT)
Of the Attack helicopter fires 2,000 rounds a minute --
virtually UNZIPPING the warehouse -- softening it for THE
TWO HYDRA ROCKETS that reduce it instantly to a huge FIREBALL.
IN THE CHOPPER -- DEVEREAUX
Watches the awesome display of firepower with calm detachment.
INSIDE THE WAREHOUSE -- TWO SHADOWY FIGURES
Stagger, blinded, out of the inferno. Hub drags a half-
conscious Tariq, where they are pounced on by commandos.
DISSOLVE TO:
THE STADIUM -- NIGHT
Pac's and Tanks ring the stadium. An anti-terrorist perimeter
has been established -- concrete obstacles, sandbags and
razor-wire. Musco-lights cast their pitiless glow.
OUTSIDE THE PERIMETER
A mob of frightened parents, girlfriends, and furious fathers.
A LAWYER for the ACLU confronts a young Lieutenant.
ACLU LAWYER
-- just want to know if my client's
name is on the list.
YOUNG LIEUTENANT
Sir, the list will be updated every
twelve hours and posted in the --
A gaggle of JOURNALISTS try to force their way in...
JOURNALISTS
-- This pass GUARANTEES... You CAN'T --
...the first FUCKING AMENDMENT!
LIEUTENANT #2
There will be a pool briefing for
all accredited journalists at 0700
hours.
Hub shows his ID. Is allowed to enter into:
THE DARK STADIUM TUNNEL
A MUFFLED CRY that might or might not have come from someone
in pain. His footsteps ECHO as he walks out to where:
2,000 DETAINEES
All young men between the ages of sixteen and thirty are
milling about. Squatting, smoking, pacing, some laughing,
most looking terrified. All spread across:
THE HALOGEN-LIT FOOTBALL FIELD
Armed GUARDS backlit in the upper tiers. Enlisted men passing
out blankets and soup. Nearby, Hub sees Tina, standing quite
still -- Finally, she is able to speak.
TINA
1942, my father was put into the
camps at Manzanar. Until the end of
the war. Two years. Now he roots for
the Dodgers and swears it could never
happen again.
MOMENTS LATER -- ON THE FIELD
Hub asks for Devereaux, is directed across the field, through
an aisle in the wire cages. FRANK HADDAD looms out of the
shadows. He looks terrible, drawn. Furious.
FRANK
They got Frankie. My kid's here
someplace --
HUB
Frank, slow down --
FRANK
(fighting back tears
of rage)
He's only thirteen, for Chrissake --
Nearby, the "Allahuh Akbar," call, to evening PRAYER.
HUB
I'll get him out.
FRANK
They came into my house. My wife
told them who I was --
(swallows hard)
How many times did I put it on the
line, Hub --? How many times --
HUB
Frank --
FRANK
We're American citizens, twenty years.
Ten years in the bureau -- They
knocked her down... and took him.
Out of my own house.
HUB
It's wrong, Frank. What can I say to
you, but it's... all... terribly...
horribly... wrong.
(takes his arm)
Now, come with me.
FRANK
NO! I've got to find him. Besides,
this is where I belong.
(takes out his wallet,
hands over his badge)
Here. I'm not their sand nigger
anymore.
Hub watches as he he walks away. A MUEZZIN chants the call
to evening prayer. Frank drops to his knees and joins the
rest of the prisoners.
THE LOCKER ROOM
Has been transformed in a COMMAND POST.
DEVEREAUX
-- And his name is Haddad?
HUB
Frank... Haddad. Junior.
COL. HARDWICK
His father's a Shiite. We're checking
him out.
HUB
Check this out, pal. His father's a
federal agent for ten years.
COL. HARDWICK
Don't get in my face, Hubbard. I
might decide you're an Ethiopian.
HUB
And you're just stupid enough to
think that's an insult.
DEVEREAUX
If a mistake's been made we'll fix
it.
HUB
There is no "if". I'm vouching for
this kid. I want him out.
DEVEREAUX
And I said we will look into it.
HUB
You mean, like you're looking into
me? Surveilling me? Breaking up my
operations? If I'd known I was going
to have to do your job for you I
would never have left the army.
DEVEREAUX
There's an FBI office in Anchorage,
Agent Hubbard. Fuck with me and you'll
be learning a hundred and fifty new
words for snow.
The two men stare at each other.
HUB
Tariq Husseini is my prisoner. I
want to see him.
DEVEREAUX
The prisoner is being interrogated.
HUB
I want to see him.
Devereaux just looks at him as we CUT TO:
THE TILED SHOWER ROOM
Tariq is strapped, NAKED, into a folding metal chair. His
head lolls on his chest, his eyes are dulled. On a nearby
table, an empty syringe. Two MP'S stand guard.
Sharon is speaking softly to him in Arabic. Suddenly, Tarak
SPITS in her face. She wipes it off as if it is nothing.
DEVEREAUX
How long have you been at it?
ELISE
Not long enough, apparently.
DEVEREAUX
How much longer, do you think, before
he gives up the other cells --
HUB
He can't give up the other cells if
he doesn't know about them.
DEVEREAUX
He knows.
HUB
(gestures to Sharon)
What about her briefing? The strategy
session -- she said the cells don't
know about each other, that they --
Devereaux ignores him. Turns to Sharon.
DEVEREAUX
How long before he breaks?
ELISE
At this rate. Too long. The theatre
was hit nine hours after we took
down the first cell.
DEVEREAUX
So -- what other models do we have --
?
No one wants to be the first to step into uncharted terrain.
DEVEREAUX
Shaking.
Nobody answers.
DEVEREAUX
What about it, Sharon?
ELISE
-- Won't work.
DEVEREAUX
Works for the Israelis.
ELISE
Only in conjunction with sleep
deprivation. Needs at least thirty-
six hours.
Hub stares at Sharon -- as the dark side of her professional
life is revealed.
DEVEREAUX
We don't have thirty-six hours.
Another silence. They're teetering on the edge of the abyss.
DEVEREAUX
Electric shock?
ELISE
The neurotransmitters just shut down.
DEVEREAUX
Water?
COL. HARDWICK
Palestinian authority is producing
good intel using water.
Hub finally can't take another second. Even in theory.
HUB
Are you people insane --?
DEVEREAUX
The time has come for one man to
suffer in order to save the lives of
hundreds
HUB
How about two men? How about three?
How about public executions, that
might work.
DEVEREAUX
You're welcome to wait outside.
HUB
General... you've lost men, I've
lost men... but what you're doing...
It doesn't work in Belfast. It doesn't
work in Gaza. And it won't work here.
(it comes slowly at
first, then in a
rush:)
-- What if... they don't want their
leader back at all? You said yourself,
we don't even have him. Maybe what
they really want -- is that we herd
our children into stadiums. Put
soldiers into our streets. Radicalize
people who want to think of themselves
as Americans. Bend the law, shred
the constitution.
(searches for the
kind of words that
come so hard to him:)
Because if we torture him -- and
let's call it what it is... You...
and I... then the country men like
us have sworn to defend. And bled to
defend. And died to defend... is
gone.
(a deep breath)
And they've won.
Gen. Devereaux stares hard at Hub. And then:
DEVEREAUX
(to Col. Hardwick)
I think we have to soundproof the
room before we begin.
Hub looks at Sharon, who looks away.
DEVEREAUX
Escort him out.
The two MPs lead Hub out of the room.
DEVEREAUX
Let's get this over with.
Sequence omitted from original script.
TIME CUT TO:
OUTSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM -- HOURS LATER
Sharon emerges from the shower room. She is shattered. The
blood drained from her face. As if carrying with her all the
sin that was committed in the next room.
FROM INSIDE THE SHOWER ROOM
The sound of a GUNSHOT. The door opens and Devereaux emerges,
in the torment of a man of honor who is living a lie.
ELISE
He knew nothing.
Devereaux turns and walks off down the corridor.
Sequence omitted from original script.
CUT TO:
THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Glorious, alabaster stone -- floodlit at night. A symbol of
all that is good and free and just. Hub drives a rental car,
staring out at the monuments.
IN GEORGETOWN
Hub pulls up to a lovely TOWNHOUSE. Parked on the street, an
UNMARKED CAR from the Secret Service.
THE CHIEF OF STAFF
Opens the door, wearing a Dartmouth lacrosse team t-shirt.
CHIEF OF STAFF
C'mon in, we're still trying to get
the last one down.
In the background, we HEAR a three-year-old crying.
IN THE LIVING ROOM - LATER
Tasteful antiques, rag rugs and kids' toys.
CHIEF OF STAFF
...The President wants this shit
over with. There's only one way to
do that.
(looks at Hub)
Let the Sheik go.
HUB
So we do have the Sheik?
CHIEF OF STAFF
You think our government operates as
a single coherent entity? Devereaux
just... pushed the agenda.
(carefully)
Of course the President was completely
unaware of it.
HUB
(return of serve)
Of course.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Now we can't just let him go. America
has to stand tall in the world yadda
yadda yadda. So what we do is...
(the punch line)
We let the American justice system
do its work.
His wife appears, holding a squalling baby, looking defeated.
WIFE
-- Honey...?
CHIEF OF STAFF
I'll be right up, darling.
She grits her teeth and goes upstairs.
CHIEF OF STAFF
You have kids? They're great.
Sometimes you just want to... drug
them.
HUB
What do you mean, let the justice
system do its work.
CHIEF OF STAFF
We don't release him. A judge releases
him. You're an FBI man. That's what
judges are good at, right?
(off Hub's look)
It's not like we've gone after him
in proper prosectorial fashion.
Kidnaping him. Holding him in
isolation. "Fruit of the poisoned
tree" -- remember that one from law
school? Oh, we'll have a big trial.
Everybody'll get their rocks off...
But the fact is --
(the punch line)
-- the sheik will walk.
He looks at Hub, shakes his head.
CHIEF OF STAFF
...And this whole episode becomes
nothing more than the news cycle
before the next news cycle.
He hands Hub an ACCORDION FILE.
CHIEF OF STAFF
Documentary evidence of Devereaux's
whole operation.
HUB
Why me?
CHIEF OF STAFF
Because you'll know what to do with
it.
Hub looks at the file in his hands. Considering.
HUB
And what about her?
CHIEF OF STAFF
Who?
HUB
You know who. How much is she
complicit in all this?
CHIEF OF STAFF
Ask her.
Hub looks up. Sharon emerges from the hallway.
Sequence omitted from original script.
ON THE STREETS OF GEORGETOWN -- LATER THAT NIGHT
Hub and Sharon sit in silence in Hub's rental car:
ELISE
I ran an Iraqi network for two years.
Samir recruited them from among the
Sheik's followers. I trained them in
the North. Then we played them back
into Baghdad, two, three at a time,
hiding them in the mosques...
Her voice softens just a bit as memory takes over.
ELISE
It was gonna be beautiful.
(looks away)
-- And then there was a policy shift --
She thought telling the story would be easy, but there's an
enormous well of untapped feeling. She fights it back:
ELISE
-- The new doctrine was: Iran will
be too powerful if Iraq falls apart.
(her voice trembles)
And it's not like... we sold them
out. Exactly. We just... stopped...
helping them. And I wasn't allowed
to tell them what was coming down. I
was ordered not to tell them.
(fighting back tears)
-- And they got slaughtered.
She turns away.
ELISE
You've got to understand -- these
people... believe. Paradise. Bliss.
To us they're just words. But to
them... It's very beautiful, actually.
And when you look at their lives,
the heartbreak... And what do we do?
We think, aha, we can take advantage
of that.
(losing it)
So I quit. I came home. I just
can't... do it... anymore.
She doesn't want to reveal herself this way. Doesn't want to
be vulnerable. Doesn't want to cling to him. For a moment He
puts his arms around her, but it's like holding a beautiful,
dangerous predator.
HUB
-- But first, you helped them.
She senses the hardness in his tone. Looks up at him, and
through tears, puts her game face back on.
ELISE
What do you mean --?
HUB
They were being slaughtered. They
needed to get out. But they were on
the watch list. So you got them visas.
You and Samir.
ELISE
I promised we would take care of
them. They were working... for us.
HUB
Doing what, exactly?
ELISE
I don't know what you mean.
HUB
You said you trained them. Tradecraft.
Subversion. That's what you said,
right?
(she nods)
Only you left something out, didn't
you... Didn't you, Sharon?
(she can't bring
herself to look at
him)
You taught them how to make bombs.
The tears are streaming down her face now. Finally, she nods.
HUB
-- And now they're here, doing what
you taught 'em.
The streetlight catches Sharon's face. Her eyes are haunted.
ELISE
And I'm going to have to live with
the hell of that for the rest of my
life.
CUT TO:
THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE -- (TO ESTABLISH) -- NEXT MORNING
TALK RADIO (V.O.)
-- the people of Brooklyn will not
be held hostage! This afternoon,
join community and religious leaders
in a march to protest the mass arrests --
Sequence omitted from original script.
CUT TO:
Sequence omitted from original script.
BOROUGH HALL PARK -- LATER THAT DAY
MARCH ORGANIZER
(handing out leaflets)
March on city hall. Today. No fear.
Hub and Frank are standing outside Hub's car, each on opposite
sides, blocking any opportunity to suveil what is happening
within.
Sharon sits inside with Samir. She uses a SCALPEL to make
the slightest INCISION under Samir's arm. The RADIO plays.
SAMIR
Ahhhhhh...
ELISE
In case you decide to go on walkabout.
Into the incision she inserts a tiny plastic TRANSMITTER.
ELISE
How did you make contact?
SAMIR
He is Afghani. Ahhhh. He got word to
my uncle at the bath-house. You never
met him.
ELISE
But you're sure he'll show up.
SAMIR
(trembling)
Sharon, they are all dead but the
last cell and they are crazy with
fear. Just tell me the message and I
will pass it on.
ELISE
I need to deliver it in person.
Believe me, they'll want to hear
what I have to say.
She turns off the radio.
OUTSIDE THE CAR
Hub and Frank glance inconspicuously around.
HUB
You watch the game?
On a piece of paper he has scribbled, "Hit Hardwick. Safe
House. 11:00."
FRANK
(nods yes, then:)
Kannell was really on.
Hub then writes. "Bath-house. 12:00."
FRANK
(nods again)
Think they'll make the play-offs?
Hub looks at him. There's been little time for sentiment.
HUB
How's your boy?
FRANK
He's alright. Thanks for getting him
out.
Sharon steps out of the car. In her hands is a device
resembling a PORTABLE OSCILLOSCOPE. A green dot appears.
ELISE
That's Samir.
HUB
(looks in at Samir)
Green is about right.
He slips Sharon the scribbled notes. As she looks at them:
ELISE
He's terrified. Then again, so am I.
HUB
You sure he'll go through with it?
ELISE
If he doesn't he knows I'll give him
to Devereaux.
(She mouths, "They
out there?" Hub nods)
How's it feel to be on the other end
of it?
HUB
I like watching better.
ELISE
This is the endgame, you understand
that? If this goes wrong --
HUB
Nothing's going wrong.
ELISE
We're the CIA, something always goes
wrong.
The car door opens and Samir steps out, buttoning his shirt.
ELISE
I don't suppose there's any way you
would trust me to do this on my own?
(off his look)
I thought not. Well, in case it gets
hairy, remember... the most committed
wins.
Hub watches as she and Samir walk away.
FRANK
I trust her about as far as I can
throw her.
HUB
That far?
SHARON AND SAMIR -- CONTINUOUS
They hurry through the park. Samir is extremely agitated,
eyes constantly darting from right to left.
SAMIR
This is not the way to the bath-house.
You said to get a key from my uncle
so that we --
ELISE
Shhhhhh... If you'd stop whining
you'd feel the surveillance.
IN THE SURVEILLANCE VAN
Colonel Hardwick, earphones on, overhearing them:
ELISE (V.O.)
Wait for the light to turn yellow
and then cross against the traffic.
On Col. Hardwick's computer, a GRID MAP of Brooklyn.
COL. HARDWICK
-- North on Ditmas Avenue.
CORPORAL
Sound garden's ready.
A TRIANGULATED FIELD OF MICROPHONES
On a nearby rooftop, an Army spotter uses a parabolic with a
gunsight. Another mic is in a woman's shopping bag; another
is in a twenty year-old's boom box.
SAMIR (V.O.)
(trembling)
Sharon, please, I beg you. Do not
make me do this. If they even dream
we are being followed they will kill
us.
The light turns RED, they race across a crowded street.
THROUGH AN ARAB NEIGHBORHOOD
Where women in chadors carry mesh bags with tonight's meal.
INTO A CLEAN APARTMENT
Nothing but a single bed with a dirty white sheet. Sharon
enters and turns on the TV... loud.
ELISE
Sit.
(takes out a pocket-
knife)
Raise your arm.
SAMIR
What are you doing?
She cuts the stitches under his armpit and begins to dig out
the transponder.
ELISE
They cannot even dream we are being
followed, isn't that what you said?
Sharon very deliberately wipes her BLOODY HANDS on the WHITE
SHEETS.
On TV, we SEE the MARCHERS in front of Brooklyn Borough hall.
SPEAKER
"-- that we will not be made afraid
to walk free in this great city. I
say, march across the bridge and
into the stadium. Demand the release
of --
Samir is staring at the TV.
SAMIR
It is all so... tragic.
ELISE
(with rising dread)
...They're going to hit the march.
SAMIR
Arab and Jew, side by side. Black
and White, Christian and Muslim --
IN THE SURVEILLANCE VAN
They appear as SPECTRAL images on Hardwick's microwave screen.
SAMIR (V.O.)
-- so American. Can you imagine a
better target?
COL. HARDWICK
(into his handset)
Get me Devereaux.
CUT TO:
BOROUGH HALL
THE CROWD is getting fired up as the SPEAKER exhorts them.
SOLDIERS watch uneasily, not certain how to respond as the
crowd begins to CHANT, "No Fear! No fear!"
Sequence omitted from original script.
THE APARTMENT
Sharon goes to a closet and takes out some old clothes. She
TURNS OFF THE TV. Then:
ELISE
Here. Put this on. We don't want our
friends sweating too much while they
wait.
IN THE VAN
Hardwick speaks into a handset.
COL. HARDWICK
They're getting ready to move. Units
1 and 2, on my signal --
SUDDENLY -- THREE UNMARKED FBI CARS
Seem to materialize out of nowhere -- boxing them in.
IN THE VAN
COL. HARDWICK
What the --
ON THE STREET
Undercover FEDERAL AGENTS roust Army CID agents. An FBI agent
with a deep drawl, spread-eagles one against a building:
SOUTHERN FBI AGENT
Hi, there, I'm new in town. Can you
direct me to Carnegie Hall, or should
I just go fuck myself --
The NYPD under the command of Danny Sussman -- roll up the
rest of the sound garden -- examine the parabolic microphones.
AGENTS WIELDING SHOTGUNS
Blow off the rear door of the surveillance van. Frank enters
and looks around at all the high-tech, microwave technology.
FRANK
Ah, microwave.
TWO WOMEN
In chadors, faces VEILED, descend a back staircase. Only as
their faces emerge from the shadows and are caught by a dim
bulb do we recognize Sharon and Samir.
Sharon unlocks a metal door to reveal THE HIDDEN COURTYARD
of a neighboring building. She and Samir hurry through a
back alley and out into an adjacent street.
BOROUGH HALL (WAS SHOT AS 194)
Where several APC's suddenly roar up and BLOCK off the square.
Devereaux stands nearby, watching as:
LIEUTENANT #2
(though a bullhorn)
This is an unlawful gathering. You
must disperse. I repeat --
Soldiers in full RIOT GEAR emerge to form a battle line:
images of Selma, 1963; Chicago, 1968; Los Angeles, 1993.
PROTEST SPEAKER
Join together! Join hands!
THE MARCHERS LINK ARMS
Arab clerics and Hassidic rabbis, Black civic leaders and
Hispanic gang members -- all continue to CHANT, "No fear!"
THE YOUNG SOLDIERS
Nervously look at one another as the
marchers begin to move.
LIEUTENANT #2
(through a bullhorn)
These soldiers carry live ammunition.
This is your final warning.
"No Fear... No Fear..." Devereaux watches in dread as the
marchers close the gap on the battle-line of anxious soldiers
is this why he became a soldier?
A YOUNG GIRL unselfconsciously approaches a young soldier.
Looks into his eyes. Smiles. And walks past. Another marcher
walks right past a soldier, who does nothing to stop her.
Soon, they are all surging past the riot-line.
DEVEREAUX watches, as something is revealed to him, something
about America that, until this moment, he had forgotten.
IN THE SURVEILLANCE VAN
Frank is fiddling with the new technology like a kid at
Christmas. But something is wrong. Where once there were TWO
GHOSTLY IMAGES of Samir and Sharon in the apartment -- now
there is NOTHING.
ON HUB'S OSCILLOSCOPE
The RADIO-SIGNAL of Samir's transmitter still registers as
an unmoving, steadily blinking light. Hub is watching the
building. Frank steps out the van, his face pale.
FRANK
We've got a problem.
HUB AND FRANK
Pound up the stairs of the building.
THE DOOR TO THE CLEAN APARTMENT
Bursts open. Hub comes in low and fast. Frank comes in hard
on his heels.
In the center of the otherwise empty room, the white sheet,
SMEARED IN BLOOD, is draped over a chair.
FRANK
What the --
Hub stares in dread fascination.
HUB
It's a shroud.
And he's out the door in a heartbeat.
Sequence omitted from original script.
BACK IN THE SURVEILLANCE VAN
Frank and Hub listen to a playback of Sharon's conversation
with Samir on the digital recorders.
ELISE
"...sweating too much while they
wait."
Frank looks up at Hub.
HUB
First she turns off the tv, then she
says it.
FRANK
She knew we were listening.
It hits them both at the same time.
HUB
The hammam.
Sequence omitted from original script.
EXT. THE SURVEILLANCE VAN
Hub and Frank hit the street at a dead run.
BENEATH THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
Samir opens a padlocked door with a key. He and Sharon
disappear within.
A HAMMAM
An Arab bath-house. Rays of sunlight play off the steaming
waters. Their footsteps ECHO off the tiled mosaic walls.
Sequence omitted from original script.
IN THE BATHOUSE
Samir kneels to touch the steaming water.
ELISE
How soon are they coming?
SAMIR
They'll be here.
He starts taking off his clothes.
ELISE
What are you doing --?
He finishes disrobing.
NAKED
He steps into the bath. With a sponge he washes his body.
SAMIR
What message do you have for them,
Sharon?
ELISE
I'll tell them when they're here.
The DISTANT SOUND of the approaching MARCH echoes off the
tiled walls as Samir steps out of the purifying waters and
takes a towel from a hamper.
ELISE
Nobody else is coming, is there?
SAMIR
That's right.
From the hamper he takes a Sig-Sauer .9 automatic.
ELISE
You're the last cell.
SAMIR
There will never be a last cell.
(racks the slide of
the .9)
You should listen to the young men
in that stadium. It is just beginning.
Sharon watches, in dread fascination, as he takes a white
egyptian-cotton FUNERAL SHROUD and drops it over his head.
THE MARCHERS
Are streaming down the street.
Hub and Frank desperately fight their way through a wild,
almost "carnival" feel.
BACK TO -- THE BATHS
Reflected in the purifying waters, Samir is putting civilian
clothes on over the shroud -- still holding the .9 on Sharon.
ELISE
How could I have missed the play --
SAMIR
(a forgiving gesture)
It was the money. You believe money
is power. Belief is power.
ELISE
-- Just tell me we didn't finance
your operation...
SAMIR
(a sad smile)
The world is a wheel. So... what
message do you have for me, Sharon?
ELISE
They're going to release him.
SAMIR
Praise God. When will he be free --?
ELISE
A few months at most. First, they
have to bring him to trial, but --
He turns away from her, opening the hamper.
SAMIR
(not looking at her)
-- No.
ELISE
-- But... that's what you want, isn't
it? Why you've done all this --
BELT OF SEMTEX EXPLOSIVES
Comes next. Velcro straps fasten the belt around his chest.
SAMIR
No. It's not.
He comes to stand beside her.
SAMIR
I want you to bleed... as we have
bled.
ELISE
Samir, the Koran preaches --
SAMIR
Do not speak to me of the Koran,
woman.
(fighting his emotion)
You take our leader. A holy man. You
put him in prison for preaching the
word of God. You must learn the
consequences of trying to tell the
world how to live.
ELISE
(with rising terror)
But it's over, your point's been
made, why spill any more blood? Those
poor people out there in the street,
they're fucking marching for your
cause...
SAMIR
Yes.
(fastens the last
strap on his semtex
harness)
And they, too, will become its
martyrs.
A VOICE from the top of the stairs:
HUB (V.O.)
Let her go and you'll live.
Samir looks up, sees Hub aiming his .45. But Sharon is between
them, blocking his shot.
From outside, we HEAR the sound of the marchers' CHANTING,
"No Fear...! No Fear...!" Samir HEARS it, too.
SAMIR
Move away from the door.
ELISE
NO --!!!
HUB
Let her go and you'll live --
ELISE
DON'T --!!!!
SAMIR
(screaming, panicked)
GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR --!!!
HUB
SAMIR --!
SAMIR
YOU WANT TO DIE --!!
They're all SCREAMING at once. Still Samir keeps inching
toward the stairs. Hub blocks the way.
HUB
No way you're going out there.
Samir jams the gun into Sharon's ribs.
SAMIR
MOVE AWAY --!
Sharon's eyes meet Hubs'.
ELISE
Shoot.
HUB
Shut up.
ELISE
Shoot.
HUB
SHUT UP...
Samir is edging ever closer. Starting up the stairs. Sharon's
eyes plead with Hub, begging for a kind of unholy redemption.
ELISE
SHOOT ME --!!!
HUB
I... CAN'T --!
ELISE
YOU HAVE TO.
(weeping now)
You... promised...
Hub's finger tightens on the trigger. But then slowly, almost
imperceptibly at first, he lowers his gun.
ELISE
(sobbing)
No --!!!
SAMIR
It is God's will.
His left hand moves imperceptibly toward the RIPCORD of the
explosive device.
HUB
If there is a God, he weeps at the
crimes we commit in his name.
HIS FIRST SHOT
Rips through Sharon into Samir, blowing them both backwards.
HIS SECOND SHOT
Is to Samir's hand as it reaches for the ripcord.
THE THIRD SHOT
Is a killing headshot. Rolling him into the baths.
CLOUD OF BLOOD
Blooms in the cleansing water. The funeral shroud billows.
THE ECHO OF THE SHOTS
Still rings in the tiled room as Hub kneels beside Sharon.
HUB
(on radio)
Officer down. OFFICER DOWN --!
ELISE
Is... he... dead?
HUB
...Shhhhhhh...
ELISE
(whispers)
...no... regrets...
Hub cradles her head.
HUB
You... knew.
ELISE
(the saddest smile)
I... wondered.
FRANK HADDAD
Appears at the top of the steps. Behind him, two PARAMEDICS
race down to kneel beside Sharon. Hub is pushed aside as
they begin triage -- but it doesn't look good as suddenly,
she begins to convulse.
HUB
Sharon... SHARON --
ELISE
... Emma... My name... is Emma.
And then she begins to mumble, at first incoherently, and
then more clearly. We realize she's speaking Arabic.
HUB
-- what are you? I don't...
And then Frank is standing above them. Tears in his eyes.
FRANK
(translating)
"I... seek refuge... king of kings..."
And Hub suddenly understands: she is preparing for her own
death. He holds her as she continues to pray in and out of
her two native tongues. Until, at last:
SHARON/EMMA
(whispers)
Allah Ahkbar. God is great --
FRANK
Allah Ahkbar --
HUB
Amen.
And she's gone.
OUTSIDE IN THE STREETS -- MOMENTS LATER
A block away, we can see the Marchers pass by. The chant of
"No Fear..." fades into the distance. But Hub has already
turned his back and is hurrying away.
CUT TO:
EXT. COURTHOUSE SQUARE -- MOMENTS LATER
Hub hurries toward the Courthouse.
MOMENTS LATER - IN THE COURTHOUSE
JUDGE FRANKEL opens the door. He is taken aback by the blood
on Hub's clothes.
HUB
I want to talk about a free society.
BACK TO:
THE STADIUM COMMAND POST
Where Devereaux is watching coverage of the march.
TV SOUND BITE (V.O.)
-- "a very moving moment in which
the people of a city step forward to
declare their courage and solidarity --
He looks up to see Hub. He's carrying the ACCORDION FILE
that the Chief of Staff gave him.
DEVEREAUX
Agent Hubbard, do you want to tell
me exactly what you mean detaining
Colonel Hardwick and six of my CID
staff. Because that strikes me as a
very peculiar idea of interagency
liaison.
HUB
The last cell has been taken down.
It was Samir. I took him out.
DEVEREAUX
What makes you so sure he was the
last cell?
HUB
Sharon.
DEVEREAUX
Sharon is not trustworthy.
HUB
Sharon is dead. She gave her life.
(takes a piece of
paper from his pocket)
This is a writ from the US District
Court releasing all those being held
here without habeus corpus.
DEVEREAUX
My authority supersedes the civilian
judiciary under the decree of martial
law.
(a rueful smile)
Sorry.
HUB
Your authority ends now. It's all
over.
DEVEREAUX
What's over.
HUB
(looks at him)
They're going to release him.
DEVEREAUX
Release him?
HUB
The Sheik.
(holds up the Chief
of Staff's' file)
Clear violation of international
law, Congressional oversight statutes,
a couple of treaties, the Federal
perjury statute, and my favorite,
the Logan Act, for conducting your
own personal foreign policy.
(simply)
I know the whole story, General.
DEVEREAUX
You don't know shit. Poor suffering
Sharon and her poor suffering people.
It's called "going native" -- the
most elementary error of an
intelligence operative and she made
it. She had all of you working for
her and she was working for them
without even knowing it. And now
they're getting exactly what they
want, which is the Sheik will be
back in the mix. But ten times as
strong, because now he's the big man
who stood up to the Americans.
(looks at Hub)
I did what was necessary. I make no
apologies. If you think you're going
to be able to use that file against
me, you know even less about politics
than I imagined.
HUB
General. I'm not in politics. You
can have this back. I won't use it.
Hub hands him the file. Devereaux takes it.
DEVEREAUX
Because you don't have the balls.
(off Hub's look)
Did you expect me to get all weepy
with gratitude? You serve your
country.
(dismissively)
Is there anything else?
Hub would love to just... clock him. Instead:
HUB
I said I wasn't in politics. I'm
not. I'm in law enforcement.
He takes his gun from its shoulder holster.
HUB
William Devereaux, you are under
arrest for the torture and murder of
Tariq Husseini under color of
authority, United States Code Title
42, Chapter 21, Subchapter 1, Sections
1983.
(takes out his gun)
Surrender your weapon.
Behind them, a COMMOTION as Frank and several agents force
their way into the room, followed by REPORTERS, who shout
questions as STROBES and VIDEOTAPE record the arrest.
OUTSIDE THE STADIUM
An NYPD car -- Devereaux within, pulls away, lights flashing.
HUNDREDS OF YOUNG ARAB BOYS
Emerge from tunnel and into the waiting arms of their mothers,
the tearful smiles of their wives and children. Hub and Frank
stand there, watching the reunions.
FRANK
(after a moment)
Did we win or did we lose --?
Hub has no answer. No one has the answer.
FADE OUT:
THE END
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