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by Matthew Lavender (monkeytrumpets@hotmail.co.uk)

Rated:

Genre: Comedy User Review: NOT YET
RATED
WINC- Watcher Incorporated. John Watcher was never a great family man. He did excell in the art of surveillance however and this led him to set up WINC, a hugely successful surveillance company. After his untimely death, he leaves a large sum of money to his four children. There is a catch however...

FADE IN:

INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY

The interior of the limousine consists of a leather bench
style seat, a minibar, a television screen mounted in front
of the bench and blacked out windows. A man in his sixties
wearing an expensive looking suit is seated on the leather
bench. He looks comfortable and composed, business like in
fact. This man is JOHN WATCHER and he is conversing with a
dark haired man in his forties who is ON THE SCREEN. This is
KYLE.

KYLE
You've definitely decided to go
through this?

JOHN
Well I know it's the way I want to
do it, plus, as I've said before,
it has to be done.

KYLE (Sighing)
I know that John, but I can call
it off if you want. There's still
time left.

JOHN
You keep telling me Kyle but, er,
I've made up my mind and I've
decided it has to happen before
it's too late. (Lowered voice)
Now, are you sure everything is
prepared? We haven't got to go
over anything again right?

KYLE
Why are you whispering John?
You're in a blacked out reinforced
limo.

JOHN
What? Oh I've been experimenting
and I find that soft, hushed tones
work for me, I've just never...
vocalised it before. Generates a
bit of an atmosphere don't you
think? (Laughs)

KYLE (slightly confused)
Er, sure...anyway John we are
ready to go. Everything is in
place.

JOHN
Great. And if anything were to go
wrong I want you to tell my
children everything. (PAUSE) Well
mostly everything. I'll leave
discretion up to you, you're good
at that sort of thing. Make me
look good, that sort of thing.

KYLE
Don't worry John, you'll do fine.
You'll be there soon.

            JOHN
      (Indicating an
       advanced looking
       radio next to him)
This thing works right? I need
some music to relax to. To...get
in the zone.

KYLE (smiling)
That's a strange place to be sir.

JOHN
(nods)
I know.

JOHN flicks on the radio. Blues rock begins to play.

CUT TO:

EXT. CROSSROAD- CITY STREET - DAY

The music continues to play throughout the scene.
As the limousine enters the crossroad a lorry appears from
off screen from the right and slams into its side.
The limo is shunted off screen and the back of the lorry
remains in view.

NOW IN SLOW MOTION

Cars come to a halt behind it and drivers exit their cars.
Cries can be heard as can an ambulance siren.
A crowd gathers around the wreckage.
This all takes place in one shot and the whole scene lasts
for about twenty seconds.

CUT TO:

EXT. ESTABLISHING SHOT-SMALL SOLICITORS OFFICE - DAY

The solicitors office is a modest, single story, white,
stone building in a fairly remote area.
The surrounding terrain is desert like and arid but the city
can be seen in the background and faint city noise can be
heard as it drifts freely.
Car horns blare and sirens wail faintly.
These sounds fail to disturb the serenity of the office's
plot of land.
This is perhaps why it was built here. There is a sense of
peace.

CUT TO:

EXT. OFFICE CAR PARK - DAY

Sand and shrubs have begun to creep into the car park from
the desert.

There are two small cars parked just outside the main door.

3 new cars approach. One is a family SUV, another a smaller
yet reliable hatchback and the third a more muscular coupe.

Each car finds a spot some distance from the others.

CUT TO:

EXT. SUV - DAY

A MAN wearing a suit exits from the driver's side and a
WOMAN from the passenger's. The WOMAN proceeds to open the
door behind the passenger side and a YOUNG BOY jumps out and
holds his mother's hand. An OLDER WOMAN exits from behind
the driver's side.

Meet HARRY, LAURA and their 4 year old son, HENRY. With them
is REBECA COLT, HARRY's mother.

The family walks towards the office door.

CUT TO:

EXT. HATCHBACK - DAY

The hatchback has parked in another area of the car park.
TWO WOMEN, one of them noticeably older than the other and a
MAN exit the car and begin to walk towards the office. The
younger women is JUNE and the man is DAVE. The older woman
is their mother PAULA REILLY.

Another of the men, wearing a suit, who has gathered with
one of the women, his wife, and the four year old, his son,
indicates with his head that they should go in.

CUT TO:

EXT. COUPE - DAY

Only two people this time. One is male dressed in a khaki
jacket and baggy trousers, the other female wearing a cream
jacket and matching linen trousers. The male is JOHNSON and
the female, his mother, is MARY BECKET. They too walk across
the car park to the office.

CUT TO:

EXT. OFFICE CAR PARK - DAY

The 3 groups meet just outside the office from different
corners of the car park.

Faint city noise filters through the air.

The atmosphere is one of tension, resentment and
awkwardness. Weighty looks are thrown at each other.
Not one word is uttered.

It is as if these people had never met before. But they
have. They are family.

Finally, HARRY nods towards the door, signalling that they
should go inside.

He leads the way and everyone follows in silence.

CUT TO:

INT. SOLICITORS OFFICE - DAY

The interior of the building is decorated with beige
wallpaper and various paintings of peaceful looking
locations.

The two largest paintings receive a look from HENRY.
One is of an emerald green forest running adjacent to an
empty road.
The one next to this is of a river flowing past the same
forest, under the same road that crosses the river via a
bridge.
On the opposite wall a hangs a painting of a desert town.
JOHNSON glances at it and nods in approval. MARY rolls her
eyes at this.

The office is devoid of clients apart from the group of
nine.

The group walks single file, HARRY and his family leading,
towards a reception desk.
The female RECEPTIONIST looks up from a TV magazine, with a
picture of a male actor on the front, and scrambles to log
in to her computer.

MARY pushes past HARRY to talk to her.

MARY shows no sense of sadness, but appears to be more
agitated, almost inconvenienced by the visit to the
solicitors office.

            RECEPTIONIST
      (tapping on the
       keyboard)
Ah welcome, you must be Mr. John
Watcher's family?

MARY
(looking disgusted)
Oh I wouldn't call it a family.
I'd call it a blend of people with
one unfortunate connection. Namely
Mr. Watcher.

RECEPTIONIST (sheepishly)
Oh? I guess I'm sorry to hear
that.

MARY
Yes I guess you are. However, I am
Mary Becket and this is my son,
Johnson Becket. Not Watcher. Never
a Watcher.

She pulls forward JOHNSON who appears fairly relaxed and
seems not to care about the visit to the solicitors.

            JOHNSON
      (now looking
       slightly
       embarrassed.)
Hi, how you doing?

The RECEPTIONIST nods and smiles at him.

REBECA COLT pushes past JOHNSON and MARY.
She is dressed in a black, as if to intentionally oppose
MARY. However she shares the sense of inconvenience that Mr
Watcher has caused them.
She signals to her family to join her. HARRY, LAURA and
HENRY obey. HARRY impatiently checks his watch and phone,
reflecting his mother's idea that they are wasting their
valuable time. HARRY is the smartest looking of the group,
especially when compared to JOHNSON.
LAURA, his wife, is attractive and more casually dressed.
She is still holding HENRY's hand, keeping him close and
separate from the others.
HENRY, although four, seems to sense the tension in the
atmosphere and seems unnaturally withdrawn.

REBECA
Hi there, I'd like to check in
with my, er, slightly larger
family. I'm Rebeca Colt and this
is my son Harry, my
daughter-in-law Laura and my
adorable grandson Henry.

REBECA glances over at MARY with a smirk that she shows no
signs of trying to hide.

            REBECA
      (grinning, looking
       again at the
       receptionist)
I'd say that we're a larger blend
of people, as I'm sure you've
noticed.

MARY glares at REBECA mouthing the word "bitch".

            JOHNSON (loudly)
      (at the same time
       as Mary)
Bitch.

The COLT family glares back at him, as LAURA, clearly trying
to preserve the integrity of her child, covers HENRY'S ears.

            LAURA (scolding)
      (still covering
       Henry's ears.)
Damn it Johnson, he's only four.

LAURA uncovers HENRY'S ears as JOHNSON gives an apologetic
nod and bows his head, genuinely ashamed of his outburst. He
smiles at HENRY who returns the gesture.

The COLT family moves away from the desk and proceed to
stand away from the BECKET family. They share icy glances
across the corridor.

PAULA, JUNE and DAVE approach the desk.
They appear less agitated than the previous two families and
share a calm sadness, as would be expected at a solicitor's
office.
Apparel wise, they are mid spectrum in comparison to the
others and have opted for the infallible smart casual.

DAVE
Hey there, I'm David Reilly, this
is my sister, June and my mother
Paula. I might be registered as
Dave, I'm not sure. Anyway that's
everyone then.

The RECEPTIONIST smiles at him.

            DAVE
      (nodding towards
       the others)
I'm sorry about them.

RECEPTIONIST (smiling)
Don't worry, we get that a lot
here.

DAVE (puzzled)
Really?

RECEPTIONIST
Well, the small arguments and, no
offence, noticeable tensions
between family members, but not so
much the swearing in front of
children. No that was a first, I
guess.

DAVE nods.

DAVE
Okay.

A short, loud buzz erupts from somewhere behind the desk.

RECEPTIONIST
Oh, er anyway, you can go on
through, Mr. Grave will see you
soon.

CUT TO:

INT. WAITING ROOM - DAY

The waiting room is small and furnished with brown leather
sofas. The floor is a bizarre mix of green and white tiles.

The walls are lined with more paintings, mainly poorly
conceived imitations of famous pieces this time, but a
window reveals the arid desert outside.

Traffic from the nearby city can still be heard.

A fine polished wooden door stands at the furthest end.

The three groups sit separately.

FOCUS on the REILLY family.

PAULA is sobbing quietly.

JUNE
(comforting her)
Hey Mom, it's going to be fine.
We've coped for years now without
dad's help. This isn't going to
change things. Look at everyone
else, they're fine. Terrible
people, granted, but they're fine.

PAULA
(still sobbing)
I know June sweetie, but I'm
trying to think back to when we
were last together like this.

            DAVE
      (deadpan
       expression)
I remember Mom. It was Christmas
three years ago. Harry thought it
would be great if we celebrated
Henry's first Christmas together.

CUT TO:

INT. HARRY'S HOUSE - NIGHT

FLASHBACK- CHRISTMAS 3 YEARS AGO

Christmas music plays throughout the whole scene.

Scene plays out in slow motion and in one tracking shot.

A Christmas tree stands in a corner near the window. Other
decorations are draped over doorways and furniture.

MARY, REBECA and PAULA are arguing with each other.

JOHNSON and HARRY are fighting too.

LAURA is playing with HENRY, desperately trying to distract
him, and herself, from the relentless arguing.

JUNE and DAVE are seated on a sofa, staring blankly at the
scene before them.

CUT TO:

INT. BACK IN THE WAITING ROOM - DAY

JUNE and DAVE are sitting with the same blank expression
they wore in the flashback.

DAVE
(shaking his head)
That wasn't the best of Harry's
ideas.

JUNE
God I feel sorry for Henry. That
was no way for him to spend his
first Christmas.

DAVE
He's probably forgotten who we all
are by now. Maybe that's for the
best though.

PAULA
Don't say that. He's your nephew,
remember. I know it sounds bad but
I think you owe it to him to not
let Harry mould him into his
image.

JUNE
What, you think he's overbearing?

10.

PAULA
I think he's trying to hard to be
the exact opposite of his father.

DAVE
You don't see that as a good thing
mom?

PAULA
Harry's taken it too far the other
way and I don't feel that bodes
well for Henry's future. Harry's
MY nephew and I know him enough to
see that he's going to become too
protective.

DAVE (sarcastically)
Hey I'm glad you weren't too
protective over me. Now I have a
fantastic job as an under
appreciated IT "guy".

CUT TO:

INT. BLAND OFFICE - DAY

FLASHBACK

DAVE is seated at a chair in front of a computer inside a
mundane office cubicle.

A bored EMPLOYEE stands behind him.

DAVE taps at the keyboard and looks into the back of the
computer in an attempt to assess what is wrong with it.

            EMPLOYEE
      (calling to
       someone off
       screen)
It's alright, I got the IT guy.

DAVE (annoyed)
Wait, is that...(swiveling on the
chair to face the employee) How
the hell did you get pasta in
there?

The EMPLOYEE shrugs dismissively.

DAVE
You don't appreciate this do you?

11.

EMPLOYEE
Yeah if I'd have known it was just
pasta then I would've fished it
out.

DAVE
Right. Hey they don't even do
pasta in the canteen on Thursday!
Christ that's got to be at least a
week old!

            EMPLOYEE
      (checking his
       watch)
Yeah you're probably right Dave.

CUT TO:

INT. BACK AGAIN IN THE WAITING ROOM - DAY

DAVE (muttering)
They do fish on Thursdays. Still.

PAULA
Don't blame me for that.

DAVE
No, I know it's not up to you, it
was voted for by...

JUNE
(cutting in)
She means your job.

DAVE
Oh right. Yeah that makes more
sense.

PAULA
You make your own choices in life
David.

The wooden door at the end of the room opens and a man steps
through. He is middle-aged, clean shaven and is wearing a
grey suit with a tie matching the tiles on the floor.

WILL
Good morning everyone, you must be
the Watchers, I am truly sorry for
your loss.

12.

MARY is about to correct him over his commiserations but
REBECA raises her hand to silence her.

WILL
Anyway folks, my name is Will
Grave, and ,er, don't worry, I've
heard all the jokes before. They
were surprisingly frequent
considering my line of work.

Nervous laughter from PAULA, JUNE and DAVE.

JOHNSON (confused)
I don't get....

He falls silent as HARRY gives him a patronising look.

WILL (awkwardly)
But then again we all react
differently to loss. Er... anyway
I'd like to speak to the Watcher
children first please. Do come in.

He beckons to his office and JOHNSON, HARRY, JUNE and DAVE
enter. WILL follows and closes the door.

            MARY (quietly)
      (as the door
       closes)
Becket, not Watcher.

CUT TO:

INT. WILL GRAVE'S OFFICE - DAY

The room itself is smaller than the waiting room with green
walls, a bookcase and a small window behind WILL's desk.

Various certifications decorate the walls.

The office looks very upscale considering the general
appearance of the building.

WILL indicates for them to sit down. They sit on elegant
chairs opposite WILL's desk. The desk is the same wood as
the doors. It is covered in typical clutter although a
catalogue of floor tiles lies open in the centre. There is a
desk lamp that is, strangely, pointing at the chairs.
The Watcher children look expectantly at WILL. HARRY is to
the left, then JOHNSON, then JUNE and then DAVE.
JOHNSON casually reaches forward for the catalogue and
begins to thumb through it.

13.

WILL
As you know it is my duty to read
to you your father's last will and
testament. Once again I am truly
sorry for your loss.

HARRY (snorting)
Well if that's true and not some
obligatory comforting then you're
the only one here who is.

WILL
(leaning forward)
What do you mean?

DAVE
I think what Harry is trying to is
that...

HARRY
(cutting him off)
I know what I'm trying to say
Dave.

JUNE (snappy)
(turning to Harry)
Shut up Harry.

            DAVE
      (before HARRY can
       start again)
You see the only thing that we can
agree on in this family is that
dad, John Watcher was a terrible
person.

HARRY
He's pretty much the focus of our
collected hatred.

            JOHNSON
      (looks up from
       catalogue)
Harry, what the hell are you
talking about? (TO WILL) I reckon
the Sahara Sand and Polar White
tiles.

JUNE
(to Johnson)
Focus Johnson.

WILL looks alarmed.

14.

WILL
You really hated your father?

HARRY
You've heard of him, how is it so
hard to believe?

JOHNSON
(looking around)
Forget that actually. Go carpet.
You'll need a rug too.

HARRY
Jesus Johnson, put that down. This
is important and immediate so
let's get it done.

HARRY grabs the catalogue and places it back on the desk.

WILL
(taking catalogue)
Er thanks. I've got to say I'm
somewhat relieved about this
situation. I can tell you know
it's gonna make my job easier.

HARRY
Glad to be of assistance.

WILL
Plus, well let's just say it's
going to be much quicker without
all the grieving and, you were
right, obligatory comforting.

Disapproving looks from JUNE and DAVE.

Approving look from HARRY.

            WILL (CONT'D)
      (reacts with
       nervous laughter)
Hey I know it's a horrible thing
to say but I can't stop thinking
it. Never the best part of my day.
Anyway I'm intrigued. Can you tell
me about Mr. Watcher? I mean I've
read articles about him but I'd
love to hear the truth from his
children.

DAVE
Would you? Really?

15.

JOHNSON
(cutting in)
I'll tell you Will. I'll tell you
about Mr. Watcher...dad. He was
born in 1943.

HARRY
(correcting him)
44.

JOHNSON
Telling this my way Harry.

HARRY
I'm telling it right Johnson.

JOHNSON
Don't need that Harry.

HARRY
Lacking proof of that Johnson.

            WILL
      (motioning with
       his hand)
Carry on.

Zoom slowly in on JOHNSON as he speaks.

JOHNSON
He was born in 1944. Apparently.
We think his dad was killed during
World War Two and his mother
raised him and his brother alone.
From what I vaguely recall no one
had a great relationship in his
family and his brother left home
when he was young.

FADE TO:

EXT. SUBURBAN STREET 1954 - DAY

Upbeat electronic music plays throughout the scene.

YOUNG JOHN is walking along the street with a school bag. He
is clearly thinking hard.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
John was always a clever,
inventive person. He saw the
potential in everyday things.

16.

YOUNG JOHN looks up to the sky where a few clouds have
formed.

P.O.V. As YOUNG JOHN looks at the clouds they take the
shape of various machines like cars and planes.

YOUNG JOHN smiles.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
John was a bright kid. He excelled
at school but as soon as he could
he left for work.

CUT TO:

EXT. MECHANICS - DAY

YOUNG JOHN is older now, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. He
is seen walking into a mechanic's.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
First he was a mechanic.

CUT TO:

EXT. CAR SHOWROOM - DAY

YOUNG JOHN is seen walking into the car showroom.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
Then he became a car salesman.

CUT TO:

EXT. GOVERNMENT BUILDING - DAY

YOUNG JOHN, now in his mid-twenties wearing an expensive
suit is seen walking into a governmental building.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
Then, out of the blue and without
any higher education he found a
job in the government, working in
surveillance.

HARRY (V.O.)
He was one of the youngest
employees they'd ever had and was
a credit to the section. Christ I
sound almost proud of him.

17.

CUT TO:

INT. SURVEILLANCE HQ - DAY

JOHN is seen shaking hands with man dressed in an equally
expensive suit in a room full of maps and various documents
showing locations around the world.

MAN
(to JOHN)
You're a credit to the section.
I'm proud of you Watcher.

JOHN smiles and nods.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
During the Cold War, John learnt
many things about surveillance and
counter-surveillance.

JOHN is seen studying aerial photographs.

CUT TO:

JOHN scribbling frantically on various blue-prints.

CUT TO:

INT. GOVERNMENT LAB - DAY

JOHN is now in a lab, examining various bugging devices.

FREEZE ON THIS IMAGE

HARRY (V.O.)
The Cold War was a good time for
John.

CUT TO:

INT. UPSCALE APARTMENT - DAY

JOHN smiles as he watches various clips of news reports and
footage about the Cold War and tensions between countries on
a television.

JOHN is wearing a t-shirt with the slogan "I Can See You"
printed on it.

18.

He gets up from the sofa and walks through a hallway into a
small kitchen. On the walls are framed aerial photographs.

JOHN puts the kettle on and takes a mug out of a cupboard.

The mug matches his t-shirt with an "I Can See You" slogan.

FREEZE ON THE MUG

JUNE (V.O.)
He made a decent living.

DAVE (V.O.)
Bought some nice things.

CUT TO:

INT. DISUSED WAREHOUSE - DAY

JOHN is standing in the middle of a large warehouse. There
are various computers and camera like objects scattered
around the warehouse.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
Anyway, John quit his government
job and went down his own path.

We see JOHN shaking hands with a PRIVATE DETECTIVE in the
warehouse.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
John made deals with various
detection agencies and
laboratories.

We see JOHN shaking hands with a SCIENTIST in the warehouse.

HARRY (V.O.)
Things were going great.

The PRIVATE DETECTIVE and SCIENTIST shake hands with each
other.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
Finally, in 1975, JOHN set up
WINC.

Note: WINC is pronounced as "wink".

JUNE (V.O.)
Watcher Incoroporated.

19.

DAVE (V.O.)
It was a public surveillance
agency.

HARRY (V.O.)
A glorified private detective
service.

CUT TO:

INT. SMALL OFFICE - DAY

JOHN is meeting with a WOMAN in the office. The WOMAN is
clearly upset.

HARRY (V.O.)
People could hire his services to
spy on friends and families.

CUT TO:

EXT. 70S SUBURBAN STREET - NIGHT

JOHN and the PRIVATE DETECTIVE from the warehouse, both
dressed in black, are seen operating under the cover of
darkness setting up cameras inside a bush outside a house on
the street.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
He always got results.

CUT TO:

INT. BACK IN THE SMALL OFFICE - DAY

Hidden Camera footage playing on a TV screen- a MAN is shown
checking over his shoulders before entering the house.

JOHN and the WOMAN are in the office watching the footage on
the screen.

The WOMAN begins to cry and JOHN hugs her, but is grinning.

Freezes on this image.

HARRY (V.O.)
WINC was a huge success and John
made millions from it. He then had
his first child in 77.

20.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL - DAY

The WOMAN, a younger MARY, from the office is giving birth.

JOHNSON (V.O.)
Me.

JOHN is holding YOUNGER MARY's hand and is encouraging her.

JOHN
Push, Mary, push.

The baby is heard crying off screen.

DOCTOR
Congratulations, it's a boy!

HARRY (V.O.)
This happened three other times
with two other women.

CUT TO:

INT. DIFFERENT HOSPITAL - DAY

The same scene is being played out. JOHN is encouraging a
YOUNGER REBECA during the birth.

JOHN
Nearly there Rebecca!

DOCTOR
Well done, it's a boy!

CUT TO:

INT. ANOTHER DIFFERENT HOSPITAL - DAY

The same scene is being played out again, with YET ANOTHER
WOMAN. This is PAULA.

DAVE (V.O.)
June and I were the last.

DOCTOR
Ah, the first one is a girl!

21.

            JOHN (shocked)
      (dropping Paula's
       hand)
First one?

CUT TO:

INT. BACK IN WILL GRAVE'S OFFICE - DAY

JOHNSON
So there you go, four children and
three mothers whom he abandoned.

WILL
So how did you find each other?

HARRY
Well, my mother was a reporter at
the time of my concep... er, doing
a piece on John and WINC and she
heard various rumours about John's
other children. She then took it
upon herself to unite us.

DAVE
(to Harry)
Well I guess terrible ideas run in
your family.

HARRY
What?

DAVE
Christmas, three years ago.

HARRY
Ah. Well, that wasn't such a great
plan. You're right.

Quick blast of Christmas music from the flashback.

JOHNSON
(also remembering)
Not so great.

WILL
How is it that between you, you
never found John?

DAVE
Because he was an expert at
surveillance and
counter-surveillance. We could
(MORE)

22.

DAVE (cont'd)
never pin-point his exact
location.

JUNE
Plus we think that when he
attended press conferences and TV
interviews he used decoys that
looked like him from time to time
to avoid us.

CUT TO:

INT. TELEVISION GREENROOM - DAY

FLASHBACK

A SLIGHTLY YOUNGER HARRY and JOHNSON are seen bursting into
a green room of a television studio.

Studio members scurry around with clipboards and headphones.

A band booked to play sit and one of them casually strums
their guitar.

The actor from the Solicitor's receptionist's TV magazine
sits chatting to a studio member.

A man who looks like JOHN is sitting on a sofa with a
newspaper.

HARRY approaches him and grabs the newspaper.

HARRY
(to the man)
Found you dad!

The man sighs and takes off his hair to show it is a wig and
removes part of his nose to reveal it as plastic. He shrugs
apologetically

The band, actor and studio members all look over at him.

JOHNSON
Shit! Again!

            HARRY
      (patting JOHNSON
       on the back)
It's alright, we'll get him next
time.

23.

STUDIO MEMBER
(panicking)
Oh God we need the reserve guest
quickly! And call security!

CUT TO:

INT. BACK IN WILL GRAVE'S OFFICE - DAY

WILL
Guess you'll see him at the wake
though.

Gets a look from DAVE.

HARRY
Great.

Will notices DAVE's look.

WILL
Well, now back to business. Your
father, as you've mentioned, was
very wealthy. He had a fortune of
ten million dollars to be precise.
Well ten million, three hundred
and fifty three dollars to be even
more precise.

JOHNSON
The precisest.

Gets a look from HARRY ("You're an idiot")

DAVE
Well that's more than we expected.

WILL
Yes, and he's left it all to you.
That's two million, five hundred
and eighty eight thousand, two
hundred and fifty dollars each.

JOHNSON looks impressed.

            WILL
      (off JOHNSON's
       look)
I used a calculator. Earlier. Then
remembered it.

24.

HARRY (excited, excited)
Seriously, that much?

WILL
Exactly, but I'm afraid there's a
catch.

JUNE
Catch? What kind of catch?

WILL
A strange catch actually. In fact
one of the best catches I've ever
read. Surprisingly I've read a few
in my time.

DAVE
Listen, our father was an
eccentric, womanising millionaire.
I think that we're ready for it.

WILL
Okay then. The gist of it is that
your father has hidden the money
somewhere and you have to find it.
Together. That is stated
specifically.

HARRY
Oh Jesus Christ, dad.

JOHNSON
Even when he's dead he feels the
need to complicate things.

DAVE
He really was crazy.

JUNE
Can't give us a break.

WILL
I personally think it's genius.

JOHNSON
Hey we all react differently to
death don't we?

DAVE
How are we supposed to find the
money? Did dad happen to leave any
clues as to where it is? Or is it
a case of, hey kids grab a metal
detector and scour the land for
(MORE)

25.

DAVE (cont'd)
your inheritance?

HARRY
Yeah that won't work if it's
notes.

DAVE
Well it could be in a metal case
or something. (BEAT)
No I didn't mean that literally.

JUNE
He knows Dave. Are there any leads
though?

WILL
Well, it states in this (HOLDS UP
THE WILL) that after the wake I am
to give you a map that will lead
you to it.

JOHNSON
Can't you just give it to us now?

WILL
Haha, no, I'm afraid not. Your
father presented me with this
contract to sign a while ago which
essentially said that if I broke
the terms of this arrangement then
I'd lose my job.

JUNE
Wait, why did you even agree to
take this job if it could result
in you losing yours?

WILL
Well, er, your father paid well I
have to say, hence the catalogue
here. (INDICATES TILE CATALOGUE)
This place is falling apart.

HARRY
(leans forward)
Who's watching us?

WILL casually but suspiciously taps the desk lamp.

WILL
What do you mean Harry?

26.

HARRY
Who's going to know if you give us
this map before the wake?

WILL (quite serious now)
Listen you four. You stand a
chance of getting a great deal of
money out of this. I can
understand your feelings towards
your father after what you've told
me but perhaps you should forget
about those in the mean time. Go
to the wake, take the map and find
your fortune. That's all there is
to it.

Short pause as the four Watchers consider the situation.

JOHNSON
Okay listen. The wake's gonna be
on a weekday right?

CUT TO:

EXT. ESTABLISHING FUNERAL HOME - DAY

On screen title reads Saturday

The funeral home was once an elegant house but now resembles
something much more Gothic. Like the solicitors office it is
situated in an out of town, nearly desert like environment
and the city can be seen behind it. Unlike the office it
looks out of place.

The same cars that pulled up to the solicitors office are
parked outside it.

CUT TO:

INT. FUNERAL HOME. - DAY

The body of JOHN lies in an open casket at the end of the
room. MARY, JOHNSON, REBECA, HARRY, LAURA, HENRY, PAULA,
DAVE and JUNE are gathered around it. No one is wearing
black, just the dependable smart casual.

HARRY
Well, we found you.

MARY
He still looks so smug.

27.

REBECA
He was in a car crash, they had to
reconstruct him afterwards. I'm
sure he's mainly plastic and fine
pieces of debris now.

MARY (smiling)
(looking at REBECA)
Probably worth more than the
coffin.

PAULA
He'll be around even less than
when he was alive now so I don't
think his judgement on the coffin
is worth anything.

All three laugh. They appear much more relaxed now than in
the solicitors office.

PAULA
I don't think we've all been in
the same room with him before.

            DAVE
      (whispering to
       JUNE)
Wow, it's Henry's first wake and
the kid looks as carefree as a...
well four year old.

Shot of HENRY looking like a happy four year old. He's too
short to see into the raised coffin.

A MAN approaches them. He is KYLE from the limo TV screen
and IS wearing black, in suit form.

KYLE
It's a shame his old buddy cohort
Graham couldn't be here.

Everyone turns to look at him.

KYLE
Graham Bud, the private detective
he set up WINC with.

HARRY
Where is he then?

KYLE
Oh, he had a falling out with John
years ago. But still, John
would've appreciated him being
(MORE)

28.

KYLE (cont'd)
here. They were good friends a
while back. Shame we couldn't find
his brother either.

REBECA
You know, I really don't think
anyone was expecting someone else
to show up to this.

JOHNSON
I'm feeling kinda under dressed
here.

DAVE
Hmm, yeah I got that too.

KYLE (awkwardly)
Well, here I am, feeling somewhat
over dressed, hehe. Er, my name's
Kyle Buteson by the way.

REBECA
It's nice to meet you Kyle,
(MOCKING) even under these
circumstances. Never mind this Bud
Cohort or whatever, how did you
know John?

KYLE
Well ma'am, I worked for him. I'm
one of his assistants from the
later years of WINC. So are they.

He points to the doorway where two other people stand. One
is a WOMAN and one a MAN. They too are dressed in black,
formal clothes.

KYLE
They would be Karen and Kevin.
It's obvious which one is which.

KAREN
(approaching)
Hi there everyone. Sorry to be
meeting like this.

Gets a quick look from REBECA

KEVIN
Likewise. So, er, what's happening
to him then, burnt, buried or
medical research?

29.

Everyone looks at him. Awkward silence.

KEVIN
Sorry, no one thought the decent
thing to do would involve sharing
funeral arrangements with his
three senior employees.

HARRY
I'll share. He's being cremated.
Burnt.

KEVIN
What about all the reconstruction
material?

KYLE
(turning to Kevin)
Come on!

KEVIN
What? I...poisonous gases you
know? There are probably enough
pollutants in there to smite an
entire species of whale. Or at
least a bunch of porpoises.

Luckily, he is interrupted by the entrance of WILL GRAVE.

WILL
There are approximately eighty
species of cetaceans which
includes both wales and porpoises
along with dolphins. You learn
something new everyday as a
solicitor. I have no clue why. Hi,
sorry to intrude, er, everyone,
but I need to speak to the
children of Mr. Watcher alone
concerning his will.

The three assistants share knowing looks.

MARY
Good Luck.

PAULA (quickly)
I'll look after Henry.

HARRY, JOHNSON, DAVE and LAURA follow WILL out of the room,
through a corridor and into another small room in which they
all take a seat around a coffee table.

30.

WILL
I think it's the right time to
give you this.

WILL pulls a scroll from his jacket, flattens it out on the
coffee table and puts mugs on the corners to prevent it from
rolling up again. Everyone leans over to study it.
Note: We never see the map, it is located just below the
shot, off screen.

WILL
As promised. Looks like your
father drew it himself.

            JOHNSON
      (pointing
       somewhere on the
       map)
What's that, a coffin?

DAVE
Looks that way, must be the
funeral home.

            JUNE
      (pointing
       somewhere else on
       the map.)
There, treasure chest. I think.

JOHNSON
Actually, THAT might be a coffin.

JUNE
No I'm sure that's a treasure
chest, I think they're supposed to
be coins scattered around it.

HARRY
I'm sure it will be in notes.

DAVE
Good work with the detail dad.

WILL
That's where the money is then.

DAVE
Damn that's miles out of town, at
least a day's worth of driving.
It's nearly wilderness out there
isn't it?

31.

JOHNSON
I think it's fairly rugged. All
forest and rivers after this
stretch of desert.

HARRY
You aren't really considering this
are you?

The others look at him.

HARRY
Come on, I've got a wife and kid
to look after. I can't go on some
insane, er, treasure hunt just
because our estranged father left
us a badly drawn map! How do we
know this isn't some kind of
deranged idea he came up with to
spite us after he died? Some kind
of post mortem joke.

JOHNSON
Harry listen. Two million dollars
for a three day trip. Fine, maybe
there is a chance that he lied,
again, but think about it. The
money could help you, Laura and
Henry so much. I hate to say this
but you'll benefit the most from
this.

DAVE
What have you got to lose except a
few days with your family? Laura
can take care of herself and
Henry, you should really think
about that and back off a bit.

HARRY
What exactly is that supposed to
mean?

DAVE
What? No, er, all I meant was that
Laura can look after Henry for a
bit Harry. She'll be fine. I'm
trying to say there's nothing to
risk here, it's a win or, well,
back to normal situation.

32.

HARRY (sarcastically)
Yeah, back to normal's great.
That's what I was trying to say!

DAVE
Johnson's right. This time. You
have a family, you'll benefit this
most from this. You know that.

HARRY
But...

JUNE
(interrupting)
I really think this is something
we need to do together.

JOHNSON
Hey, I know this is something we
need to do together. Can't get the
two million otherwise. Come on
Harry.

HARRY (Sighing)
I still can't help feeling that
it's a waste of time.

DAVE
At least if it isn't real then it
will confirm the worst about dad.

JOHNSON
Also two million.

BEAT

HARRY
Fine. Ok I'm in then.

            JOHNSON
      (patting him on
       the back)
Good move.

            HARRY
      (brushing off
       Johnson's arm)
I hope so.

DAVE
(to WILL)
Just out of interest, can you tell
us what he left our mothers?

33.

WILL
Turns out I can. He left them the
rights to his company, WINC. They
can do whatever they want with it.

JUNE
Wow. I though I noticed a cleaner
atmosphere between them.

DAVE
Yeah, that definetly explains it.

WILL
Yep, oh and he left them his ashes
too. Although there are some
issues with burning the
reconstruction material that still
need to be cleared up. You know,
the whale thing.

CUT TO:

EXT. HARRY'S HOUSE, DRIVEWAY - DAY

On screen title reads: One Week Later

Harry's house lies in the suburbs on the city's outskirts.
It is clearly a wealthy area due to the size of the houses
and large SUVs in their driveways.

DAVE and JOHNSON are loading an SUV with several bags. DAVE
walks off and JOHNSON subtly fiddles with something on his
back, under his t-shirt. HARRY is saying goodbye to LAURA
and HENRY.

HARRY
Don't worry honey, I'm sure it
will pay off.

LAURA
How can you be sure that this
isn't some sick joke John started
before he died?

HARRY
Believe me, that crossed my mind
too. I can't be sure it's not a
trick but it seems fair that he
did leave us some money, I mean he
was human after all, maybe he did
feel a responsibility towards his
kids in the end.

34.

LAURA
Well just be careful anyway. Call
us a soon as you know for certain.
I love you Harry.

HARRY
(kissing her)
I love you too. Shouldn't be away
for much more than three days.

He bends down to speak to HENRY who is swatting away a fly.

            HARRY
      (strokes Henry's
       hair)
(Re: the fly) Hey you got him son.
Love you too Hen. Look after mommy
for me kiddo. I know you will.

MARY, REBECA and PAULA are standing together. They are
happier than before and seem more relaxed in each others'
company.

MARY
Do you think we should tell them
now?

REBECA
I'll do it.

            PAULA
      (waking towards
       the others)
Let me.

DAVE
Hey mom, what's up? We're nearly
ready to go.

PAULA
We sold the company.

DAVE
What? When?

JUNE, HARRY and JOHNSON all look at her.

PAULA
Yesterday. As soon as people found
out about John's death there were
offers. It reached its peak so we
decided to offload it. We
couldn't say no.

35.

JUNE
Who did you sell it to?

PAULA
A security company. Lockdown. They
specify in prison security.
Figured they could use the help.

JOHNSON
What did you get for it?

PAULA
Six million, two million each,
which isn't bad considering it was
a company owned by an eccentric.

JUNE
Hey that's fantastic!

JOHNSON
Yeah, good move.

MARY
It was the best thing he's done
for any of us. I suppose we hope
you have the same luck.

DAVE
Guess that does seem like a good
omen.

REBECA
We did a small press conference
yesterday when you were preparing
to go. It'll be officially
announced later today.

HARRY
That's great news. Kind of
reassuring. A good decision too.

PAULA
Thank you Harry. Mary's right
though, I hope he kept his promise
to you all.

JUNE
So do we mom.

HARRY
Is everything packed then?

36.

DAVE
Yeah, looks that way. Guess we
should be off.

MARY
We'll see you soon kids.

The four of them get in the SUV. HARRY gets in the driver's
seat.

JOHNSON
Whoa, what?

HARRY (sternly)
My SUV, I'm driving.

JOHNSON gets in the seat behind HARRY and JUNE sits next to
him. DAVE gets in the passenger seat.

The car pulls off but stops after about five seconds. DAVE
gets out carrying a child's booster seat and gives it to
LAURA. He waves goodbye and gets back in the car. The car
accelerates and speeds away.

MARY
Who feels like celebrating?

PAULA
Where should we go?

REBECA
We have six million dollars. We'll
go wherever the hell we want.

CUT TO:

INT. SUV - DAY

DAVE is reading off of a list. The map can be seen on the
dashboard.

DAVE
Food?

HARRY
Check.

DAVE
Clothes?

HARRY
Check. For me anyway.

37.

JOHNSON
Three days didn't seem worth extra
clothes for me.

HARRY (sarcastically)
Great. Good move Johnson.

DAVE
(coughs)
Ahem, tents, torches, compasses,
how long do you really think this
is going to take?

HARRY
I'm hoping three days at the most.
Dad's shitty map doesn't really
show much detail. I know roughly
where we're headed though. Plus I
can't afford to miss more than a
day at work, although, er, you
know I'd love to.

JOHNSON
Harry what the hell are you
talking about, we know you love
being in advertising. It gives you
a feeling of control doesn't it,
thinking you've got an influence
over people like us. The masses
that you sell to. You think you
can find away into our
subconscious don't you?

            HARRY
      (looking in the
       mirror at Johnson)
Hey, maybe I can but what do you
do? Does being a lifeguard pay
well? Where will that take you in
a few years time? The ocean? Some
tourist resort where they'll put
you on wave machine watch?

JOHNSON
It's all about job satisfaction.
I've saved lives. Young and old.
You haven't. Your finest moment
was a forty five second,
irritating jingle filled,
"masterpiece" of advertising for
flavoured, all surface paint that
actually smells like every other
paint with a slight hint of
(MORE)

38.

JOHNSON (cont'd)
cherry. Good job.

HARRY turns around to face JOHNSON and DAVE grabs the wheel
to steer the car.

DAVE
Shit, Harry!

            HARRY
      (still facing
       Johnson)
Yeah, hold the wheel Dave. We
don't make the product, we sell it
and then make a ridiculous amount
of money from it. Genius right?

DAVE
Jesus Harry, turn around and take
the wheel!

JOHNSON
Yeah? I offer people security and
saftey. It's not about the money.

HARRY
Then why are you in my car?

JOHNSON
Same reason as you Harry.

HARRY
Haha you know I don't NEED the
money to support my family. Like
you said I would benefit greatly
but it's far from a necessity.
Guess you're lucky you don't have
one to worry about.

DAVE
Harry! Brakes, hit the brakes!

JUNE
Oh God do what he says!

HARRY
Johnson, you're pathetic, just
like dad.

            JOHNSON
      (reaching behind
       him)
Yeah?

39.

JOHNSON pulls out a pistol from a holster on his back.

HARRY
(wide eyes)
Oh shit!

JUNE
Johnson what the hell!

HARRY whips around and grabs the wheel.

DAVE (urgently)
Brake!

CUT TO:

EXT. STREET - DAY

The SUV doesn't have to time to brake to avoid colliding
with a parked lorry but HARRY manages to swerve out of the
way into oncoming traffic. HARRY steers the car onto the
left hand pavement to avoid two oncoming cars. The SUV then
heads back to the right side of the road after the drivers
honk at them.

CUT TO:

INT. SUV - DAY

Everyone looks terrified. JOHNSON is still holding the gun.

HARRY (panting)
Oh God that was close.

There is silence for a moment as everyone breaths deeply.

            JUNE (angrily)
      (turning to
       Johnson)
Why the hell did you bring that?

JOHNSON
Because I like to feel secure.
Some people feel differently, I
know but this makes me feel safe.
I also like to keep my money safe
and if between us we end up
carrying ten million dollars home
then I'd like to feel that this
SUV is a vault protected by an
armed guard. Namely me. (BEAT)
Plus where we're headed there
(MORE)

40.

JOHNSON (cont'd)
might be bears. I'm not entirely
sure though. It's mainly for the
money thing.

            HARRY
      (again, looking in
       the mirror)
You... you weren't going to shoot
me though?

JOHNSON
What? Of course not, it's not even
loaded, look. The chamber is empty
too. Just wanted to scare you.

He shows HARRY in the mirror that the gun is empty.

JOHNSON
I er, think I over reacted a bit.
Sorry 'bout that Harry.

HARRY
Yeah, its alright. I did provoke
you though.

JOHNSON
Still, I didn't need to pull a gun
on my half brother like that
though.

HARRY
It's dad's fault. He's why we're
like this, in this situation.

JOHNSON leans forward and pats HARRY's shoulder. HARRY
reaches to brush it off but thinks better of it and grabs
the wheel again firmly. An awkward silence falls again.

HARRY subtly glances down at his trousers and frowns in
shame.

HARRY (nervously)
I'm gonna stop at the next rest
stop. Just a heads up.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUT OF TOWN REST STOP - DAY

We see HARRY walking back towards the car from the rest
stop. He has changed his trousers.

41.

The car is parked with both back doors and the passenger
door open. JOHNSON is leaning on the roof of the car on one
side and JUNE the other. DAVE is sitting sideways in the
passenger seat with his legs out of the car. The radio is
on.

FEMALE NEWS READER
(from the radio)
... for a reported six million
yesterday.

HARRY reaches the car.

DAVE
You just missed the report about
WINC being sold.

DAVE reaches to change stations.

JOHNSON
Leave it. Listen...

FEMALE NEWS READER
And in addition to that it has
been revealed by Johnson Becket,
one of John Watcher's four
children, that between them they
have inherited a sum close to 10
million dollars.

The other three look at Johnson.

DAVE
You didn't...

JOHNSON
(smiling)
Listen to this, great story I fed
them here...

FEMALE NEWS READER
Mr. Becket also stated that the
four of them are taking a road
trip to clear their heads and come
to grips with their loss. He also
added that they aren't willing to
discuss the matter further.

JUNE
Why did you tell them!?

42.

            HARRY
      (with a hint of
       sarcasm)
Good job Johnson.

DAVE
What? It ought to deter a huge
media circus.

HARRY
Taking a road trip to clear our
heads? That's why you decided you
might need the gun isn't it? In
case people came after us?

JOHNSON
Oh come on, they expected some
kind of interview from us. I think
I managed to help us avoid that.
Besides Harry, it was your mother
that got us famous, with her
article.

JUNE
I'd hardly call us famous Johnson.

DAVE
Yeah, I tried to keep out of that.
The whole illegitimate Watcher
children thing just didn't appeal
to me.

HARRY
Wouldn't call us famous? Hey June,
you're a published writer! I know
its been a while since we talked
properly about this but I noticed
Laura reading one of your books so
you've gotta be doing alright.
Don't tell me that's the only sale
you've had.

JUNE
Ok fine, but I'm not fond of being
in the lime light, not in this
way.

JOHNSON
Well at least now we can do this
thing in peace.

CUT TO:

43.

INT. DARKENED LIVING ROOM - DAY

Focus on a radio. The same report is being read.

FEMALE NEWS READER
...He also added that they aren't
willing to discuss the matter
further.

A figure walks past the radio.
We track the figure's feet into a hallway.
The camera moves up to waist height.
There is a cupboard in front of the figure.
The cupboard is opened.
Hands reach in and pull out a pistol followed by a shotgun.
The weapons are loaded from ammo in the cupboard.
This figure with the guns is an ex private detective. He is
GRAHAM BUD.
His face is now in shot via a hall way mirror. It has been
ravished by age and his jaw is covered with vicious stubble.
His eyes have a distant yet manic glint to them.

GRAHAM
(grinning wickedly)
'Bout time.

EXT. DILAPIDATED HOUSE - DAY

The outside of Graham's house is covered by creeping plants
and it generally looks uncared for.
The front door is kicked open by GRAHAM. Bits of wood fly
off of it. He makes no effort to close it.
He carries the pistol in his right hand and the shotgun in
his left.
He is a tall, well built man and is wearing a baseball cap,
dirty white t-shirt with a faded "I Can See You" Logo, a
shabby blazer and baggy. stained jeans.
We follow him across a muddy drive to an imposing dark red
1970's era classic car.
He shoves the guns onto the passenger seat and puts the
pistol in the glove box.
The back seats of the car have been removed and in their
place is a homemade cage.
GRAHAM walks around the car and...

CUT TO:

INT. GRAHAM'S CAR - DAY

...gets in the driver's seat, swatting away a fly as he does
so.

44.

He flicks on the radio and some kind of psychedelic rock
plays.

CUT TO:

EXT. GRAHAM'S CAR - DAY

The car revs and accelerates off screen leaving a trail of
dust and rust behind. The music fades out with it.

CUT TO:

EXT. REMOTE SERVICE STATION - DAY

The group are now someway from the city and the environment
has the familiar desert like complexion.

It is approaching evening. HARRY is filling up the car's
tank. JOHNSON is inside the station. DAVE and JUNE are
sitting opposite each other on a bench towards the exit of
the station.
They are studying the map.
Focus on them.

            DAVE
      (looking at the
       map)
We seem to be going the right way,
I think that might be this stop.

He puts his finger on a point.
JUNE nods.

JUNE
Yeah looks like it. How long do
you reckon it will take?

DAVE
We'll hit the river tomorrow I
reckon. Today we just need to head
through to this town, Basetown i
think, and then to the border of
the forest. There should be a
bridge over the river. I'm
guessing the money is in a cabin,
or buried near to the forest. If
there is any money at all.

45.

JUNE
Why do you think he did this? Why
not give us the money, like he
gave away the company?

DAVE
(shrugging)
Who knows? Maybe he liked the idea
of controlling us even after he
died. We never really got to know
him.

JUNE
Maybe that's for the best. Do you
ever think about what it might be
like if Rebeca had never written
that article?

DAVE
Do you think we would've been
happier? Alone?

JUNE
Well we wouldn't really have been
alone, I mean, we've got each
other, Harry has Laura and Henry
plus Johnson... well he's so
dysfunctional that he pulled a gun
on his half brother.

DAVE laughs.

JUNE
I know that our family fights,
taking the aforementioned gun
incident as the most recent
example, but it's not always like
that.

DAVE
There have been good times.

JUNE
You thinking about when Henry was
born?

DAVE
Yeah. That brought us together
didn't it? Even more so that the
unanimous hatred of dad.

46.

JUNE
(smiling)
And maybe he wasn't such a bad
person after all. Two million each
isn't a bad inheritance.

            DAVE
      (returning her
       smile)
Even though he sent us on this
ridiculous errand to get it.

JUNE
Oh God I hope he hasn't screwed
us. I really need this to pay off.

DAVE
Writer's block?

JUNE
My worst ever. I struggled through
my last novel and the critics
noticed.

DAVE
You mean "Last Call?" I loved
"Last Call", thought it was your
best yet.

JUNE
C'mon don't give me that crap.

DAVE
What, I'm serious! Couldn't put it
down all night.

JUNE
What about the ending?

DAVE
I thought it was great. I
definitely didn't see it coming.
If the critics say they did then
they're lying. I mean it.

JUNE
I was aiming for unpredictable but
I thought I got unrealistic.

DAVE
Well I never guessed that it was
his partner.

47.

JUNE
That's because I killed him off
half way through. Christ Dave, he
drowned and I brought him back...
as the Last Call killer and not to
mention the first victim's
estranged brother. I can't even
remember how I wrote myself out of
that one.

DAVE
He found an oxygen canister at the
bottom of the river and managed to
breathe the air from it. The
fratricide part was due to
jealousy.

JUNE
Oh God was that it?

DAVE
I still thought it was great.
Don't give up June. Don't let
critics hold you back. You don't
write for them remember. You never
have.

JUNE
Ah, I know Dave, but now I'm
completely stuck for new ideas.
I'm thinking of returning those
senior detectives for a new case
but the publisher advised against
it. Strongly agaisnt it.

DAVE
You could always write
non-fiction. See how this so
called road trip pans out and
write about it. That would sell.
Honestly.

JUNE
(laughing)
What do you know, you fix
computers!

DAVE
Truthfully June, I've heard people
praising your books around the
office. They even congratulate me
on your behalf.

48.

JUNE
I appreciate that Dave. I'll be
alright I think, once this is
over.

JOHNSON emerges from the station and rushes over to help
HARRY. He fumbles with the nozzle and spills petrol on his
jeans.

HARRY
Shit!

Focus on HARRY wiping his jeans. Over his shoulder we see a
mysterious hooded man appear from around the corner of the
station. He has a digital camera around his neck and as he
raises it, HARRY turns and faces him. The man quickly snaps
a picture of HARRY and runs back around the station. HARRY
is so startled he doesn't notice the petrol leaking from the
end of the nozzle.

JUNE and DAVE come rushing as HARRY returns the pump to the
holder. DAVE notices the spilt petrol.

DAVE
Nobody... light a match or fire a
gun or anything.

JOHNSON just stares at him, annoyed.

CUT TO:

INT. SUV - DAY

Everyone has taken their places again.

JUNE keeps sniffing the air.

She rolls down the window.

JOHNSON (sarcastically)
Better?

JUNE (smugly)
Much better.

DAVE (whimsically)
I don't know, I quite like the
smell of gas...

HARRY
(interrupting Dave)
I saw someone at the garage.

49.

JUNE
Really? It looked fairly deserted.

JOHNSON
Apart from the fly magnet clerk.
That was disgusting. Really.

DAVE
Hey, maybe you should've shot him!

JOHNSON
Alright, it's time to jump the gun
incident. (BEAT-realizes) I mean
get over it.

HARRY
Anyway I think he was a
photographer. He got a picture of
me.

JOHNSON
The stained jeans too?

HARRY
Hey, I can afford new ones.

DAVE
Why the hell would the press
follow us out here? We're hardly
big news.

HARRY
I dunno, all I'm saying is that
there was someone there with a
camera. They covered their face,
made it kind of weird. Keep an eye
on the roads.

JUNE
I was kinda hoping that's what
you'd be doing.

CUT TO:

EXT. BACK AT HARRY'S HOUSE - NIGHT

It is dark and silent. There are lights on upstairs where
LAURA and HENRY are. LAURA is putting HENRY to bed.
Graham's car pulls up in front of the driveway. The music
from the radio stops.

CUT TO:

50.

INT. HARRY'S HOUSE, HENRY'S ROOM - NIGHT

HENRY's room is blue with pictures of various sea creatures
imprinted on the wallpaper. HENRY is in bed and LAURA lays a
children's book on a chest of draws next to his bed.

HENRY (sleepily)
When's daddy coming home?

LAURA (softly)
Soon sweetie, very soon. He's
going to help us. Everything will
be fine when he gets back.

She leans forward and kisses HENRY on the forehead.

LAURA
Goodnight sweety. I love you.

LAURA gets up and exits the room, leaving the door open
slightly. We follow her downstairs into a modern living area
with cream leather sofas and a large plasma television. The
house is large and mainly open plan save the kitchen.
LAURA settles down on one of the sofas and opens JUNE'S
book, "Last Call".
For a few seconds everything is silent.
Suddenly an explosion is heard as the front door is shot at
from outside.
LAURA screams and we hear HENRY crying.
LAURA rushes towards the stairs past the door where we see
wooden shards on the floor and a hole where the lock once
was.
LAURA runs upstairs and dashes into HENRY's room and hugs
him.

            LAURA
      (trying to remain
       calm)
Come on Hen, darling, we have to
go.

We hear the door hit the carpet and heavy footsteps
downstairs.

LAURA picks up a crying HENRY and runs out of his room and
onto the landing. She looks over the banister to see GRAHAM
standing in the doorway pointing his shotgun at her.

GRAHAM
(grinning)
Hello Mrs. Colt.

51.

He fires the gun and hits the ceiling above LAURA who yells
and runs across the landing to the bathroom.

GRAHAM laughs wildly.

He begins to make his way upstairs.

Still holding HENRY, LAURA slams the bathroom door behind
her and bolts it. Like the living room, the bathroom is
modern and luxurious.
LAURA then rushes towards the small window at the back of
the room and opens it.

LAURA
Henry, you need to be very brave
for mommy. We need to climb out of
this window, just like I told you
if there was a fire. It's not far
to the kitchen roof.

GRAHAM (O.C.)
Don't think you can hide from me
Laura!

LAURA puts HENRY down next to her and pulls a stall towards
her, next to the window.

LAURA
We'll climb on here to get out
sweety.

She reaches down and picks HENRY up.
Just then the bolt on the door is blasted off by the gun.
LAURA screams and HENRY crys.

The door swings gently open to reveal GRAHAM, shotgun raised
with a look of manic excitement on his face.

GRAHAM
This must be Henry then.

LAURA holds HENRY tighter.

            GRAHAM
      (very close the
       them now)
So Henry, can you tell me where
your daddy is?

GRAHAM leans closer to LAURA.

52.

GRAHAM
Or maybe mommy can? I'm sure he's
out there somewhere!

LAURA
Oh God!

CUT TO:

EXT. HARRY'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Now back on the driveway. GRAHAM is leading LAURA and HENRY
to his car at gun point.

GRAHAM
You're going to like this! I've
made a few modifications to the
car.

CUT TO:

INT. GRAHAM'S CAR - NIGHT

Inside the car we see that the back seats have been removed
and steel mesh been inserted between the back and the front
seats. It forms a cage. GRAHAM forces LAURA and HENRY
through a crudely cut hole in the mesh into the back and
then padlocks the hole, securing them inside.

GRAHAM
Not bad eh? And I've locked the
boot so don't get any crazy,
futile ideas about escaping now! I
know what desperate people can be
like.

GRAHAM puts the shotgun on the passenger seat and sits in
the driver's seat. He starts the car.

GRAHAM
Now, where did you say your
husband was m'lady? And you'd
better answer because there are
worse things up front than a gun,
I can asure you.

LAURA (stuttering)
They, they went out of down
through the desert, oh god don't
hurt my son.

53.

GRAHAM
Yeah I hope is doesn't come to
that. (BEAT) Maybe.

LAURA hugs a crying HENRY to try to comfort him.

GRAHAM slams down the pedal and the car speeds off into the
night.

CUT TO:

EXT. EMPTY DESERT HIGHWAY - NIGHT

The SUV has stopped by the side of the road and a tent has
been erected over one door.

CUT TO:

INT. INSIDE THE SUV/TENT - NIGHT

DAVE and JUNE are in the tent whilst HARRY and JOHNSON are
in the car, on the two back seats that are tilted as far
back as they go.

            JOHNSON
      (looking at the
       roof)
This time in tomorrow we'll know
if we're rich or not.

DAVE
(nodding)
Yep... it's going to be
interestng.

JUNE
Plus it was kinda nice to see you
all again.

DAVE
That too yeah.

Short pause..

HARRY
I might come and join you in the
tent. The car smells of gas still.

JOHNSON (muttering)
I could so easily load that gun...

54.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE SUV/TENT - NIGHT

Outside the SUV/tent we can hear the four half siblings
laugh.

P.O.V. shot of the tent through gently shaking night-vision
goggles. Lasts for a few seconds. Eerie and unsettling.

CUT TO:

INT. GRAHAM'S CAR - DAY

It is dawn. GRAHAM is driving and eating a bagel. LAURA and
HENRY are asleep in the caged part of the car.

GRAHAM
(turning to them)
You'd better be waking up soon.
I'm gonna need directions. My
memory isn't as sharp as it used
to be.

He turns back to the front.

GRAHAM
My trigger fingers on the other
hand, they kind of work by reflex.

LAURA slowly opens her eyes and sits up.

LAURA
What do you want?

            GRAHAM
      (still facing
       forward.)
Honestly? Spot of revenge would be
nice, but I could settle for ten
million dollars. I hear that your
husband and his siblings have
recently come into such money. Not
to mention your mother in law.

LAURA
Who are you?

GRAHAM
All in good time.

55.

LAURA
Where are you taking us?

He finishes the bagel.

GRAHAM
I was, er, hoping that you'd tell
me.

LAURA
What? What do you mean?

GRAHAM
I want you to tell me where Harry
is heading in a bit more detail
than through the desert.

            LAURA
      (trying to be
       brave)
They'll come looking for me. The
cops, after they see what you did
to my house.

GRAHAM
So be it. Can't stop that
happening, but have you ever heard
of a little thing that said law
enforcers, as well as the media,
call a hostage situation? You've
probably seen then in films or
read about them in fiction or
perhaps, in something more
frightening like reality. This
reality. Now I'm not saying that
will happen or I want that to
happen but I will throw us all
into that terrifying reality if I
have to.

HENRY wakes up and LAURA hugs him again.

GRAHAM
Now, you were telling me which way
to go?

CUT TO:

56.

INT. SUV - DAY

Everyone is sitting in their places again. JUNE is reading a
paper, JOHNSON is dozing, DAVE is drinking a coffee and
HARRY is driving.

JUNE
There's a small article about us
in here. No candid photos though
Harry.

DAVE
What does it say?

JUNE
Same as the radio yesterday.

JOHNSON suddenly stirs and wakes up.

JOHNSON
How long do you reckon now?

HARRY
I think we'll be at the next town
by mid afternoon and then at the
forest by evening. Took longer
than expected so if we take shifts
on the way back we should be home
by tomorrow night.

HARRY's phone rings. He reaches into his new pair of
stainless jeans pocket to get it.

HARRY
Hello? Mom? Alright, slow down
what is it?

After a few seconds, he brakes hard. DAVE drops his coffee
onto his lap.

DAVE
Ow, oh God that hurts a lot.

JOHNSON
What the hell Harry?

            HARRY
      (ignoring them)
Did you call the cops? Okay,
Jesus, they're sending someone to
meet us? From the next town? Okay,
we'll stay put here. Oh God I hope
she's okay. Make sure you stay
with Mary and Paula. I'll call
            (MORE)

57.

HARRY (cont'd)
later, bye Mom.

He puts the phone back and breathes heavily.

JUNE
Harry, what happened?

            HARRY
      (starring straight
       ahead)
Laura and Hen have gone. The door
was destroyed and there were
shotgun shells on the landing. Mom
just called and they're sending a
squad car to meet us here from the
next town.

DAVE
Oh God. Harry what do you want to
do?

HARRY
Well we've, er, she said to, we've
got to wait here for the cops.

JOHNSON
Do they know who it was?

HARRY
(hoarse voice)
No she didn't say. I hope they're
ok. Who the hell would want to do
this?

He starts to cry.

DAVE
(opening the door.)
C'mon, let's get some air.

HARRY
(sobbing)
Yeah good idea.

CUT TO:

EXT. HARRY'S CAR- DESERT HIGHWAY - DAY

HARRY, DAVE and JUNE exit the car.

58.

JOHNSON pulls the gun from its holster and gets out of the
car. He opens the boot and unzips a bag inside. The others
look at him. He pulls out a magazine clip from the bag and
inserts it into the gun.

DAVE
What...?

            JOHNSON
      (he holsters the
       gun)
Just in case you know. There's
something bad happening.

CUT TO:

INT. UNKNOWN ROOM - DAY

The room is fairly small and is full of monitors and
computer equipment. It is longer than it is wide. A figure
is facing away from us sitting at a monitor. He turns around
and is revealed to be KYLE.

            KYLE
      (to someone off
       camera)
They've stopped, I don't know why,
but they're not moving.

KAREN appears from off screen and checks KYLE's monitor.

KAREN
Yeah, you're right. What should we
do?

KYLE
Wait here until they start moving
again. We won't lose track of them
here.

KAREN
Right.

She picks up a phone from the desk on which the monitor
sits.

KAREN
(into the phone.)
Kevin, this is Karen. Target has
stopped. We're going to wait here
until they start moving again.

59.

CUT TO:

INT. LORRY CAB - DAY

Inside a lorry cab. KEVIN is behind the wheel and is wearing
the same blue hoodie as the man at the service station. The
camera is still around his neck. He picks up a phone also.

KEVIN
(into the phone)
Copy that Karen.

He brakes and the lorry comes to a halt.

CUT TO:

INT. UNKOWN ROOM - DAY

Back in the computer room.

            KYLE
      (standing up and
       walking to
       another desk)
We should be in range to listen in
on them.

KAREN
I'll set up the dish.

She walks over to the back of the room and presses a button.
The back wall opens downwards and reveals daylight outside.

CUT TO:

EXT. LORRY - DAY

KAREN steps out and it is revealed that she is in the desert
and that the room was the inside the lorry's trailer.
KAREN climbs up via a ladder onto the top of the trailer
where a small satellite dish is folded into the roof. She
promptly unfolds it and taps in a series of numbers on a
keypad on the dish.

KAREN
(standing up.)
You should be able to hear them
soon.

CUT TO:

60.

INT. LORRY TRAILER/HI TECH ROOM - DAY

Back in the trailer. KYLE turns on a speaker and picks up
the end of HARRY'S conversation with the other three.

KYLE
(listening hard)
Jesus. Guys, something bad is
happening!

CUT TO:

INT. COP CAR - DAY

Two cops sit in the front of the car. The driver is a black
male of forty and the other is an older white male. The
older man is wearing large sunglasses with black lenses. He
has short white hair and small moustache of white. This is
OFFICER RICHARD LANCER, RICH to his friends, LANCE to those
who think they are his friends. Most people know him as
RICH. His partner is OFFICER SAMSON ERRAND. SAMSON has short
black hair and is clean shaven. RICH is trying to operate
his radio.

            RICH
      (slamming the
       radio back into
       its holder)
Damn thing, there's interference
coming from somewhere.

SAMSON
How can there be interference,
there ain't nothing out here,
apart from us, minimal traffic and
the tumble weed. Just how I like
it.

RICH
I know Sammy, but I'm trying to
get a pin point on their location
from the station. (CHUCKLING) Hey
I rhyme today.

SAMSON
Nice work. Well, the way I see it
is that they're heading to the
river.

RICH
How'd you figure that?

61.

SAMSON
Boss says that they're supposedly
on a road trip right?

RICH
Yup.

SAMSON
Well then, there's nowhere else
near here worth going to except
for the river. Beautiful place
after all.

RICH
What about Basetown?

SAMSON
You're joking right? The only
things in Basetown are the
station, a few garages and a
series of residents who seemed to
have given up on ever moving from
there.

RICH swats at a fly buzzing around his head.

RICH
I dunno, maybe they stay for the
nearby serenity. Hell knows I am.
You're right, it is peaceful up
there.

SAMSON
Yeah? You got the house all
prepared yet?

RICH
Yup, nearly. Another week or so
and it should be ready.

SAMSON
Let's cut to the chase Rich. When
are you planning to leave?

RICH
Boss says any time after this
month is up. This may even be my
last proper call out. I just hope
it doesn't turn nasty you know?
It's a kidnapping after all.

62.

SAMSON
Hey, we're just here for the
husband, let the city guys handle
the case.

RICH
Yeah, that's what I'm counting on
but if something does crop up to
threaten my retirement, then I'm
willing to defend it, if you know
what I'm getting at.

SAMSON
(laughing)
Oh yeah and I'll defend it with
ya.

RICH swats away the same fly.

RICH (scowling)
God damn persistent creature! How
come they aren't attracted to you?

SAMSON (suddenly serious)
No idea Rich.

RICH
You alright Sam?

SAMSON (Sighing)
Yeah, I just...

RICH
What's on your mind?

SAMSON
Ah speaking 'bout the house and
the forest and retirement down
there just reminded me of
something that happened to me a
while back. You're going to think
it's melodramatic.

RICH
Maybe so, still, shoot.

SAMSON
Well when I was, what, about
twenty I, we, my family and I used
to live in a place like that. It
was a nice town with patches of
forest like the one near Basetown.
I used to kill spare time by
wandering through them just...just
(MORE)

63.

SAMSON (cont'd)
thinking things over. Anyway this
one Summer evening, you know the
ones, warm and hazy, I'd been
drinking with friends and after
they'd left I went for such a
wander through this one forest.
There was, and probably still is,
a church and graveyard just
outside the forest on the path I
was treading down. Out of the blue
though, out of the ether, got this
strange feeling that, Jesus this
sounds odd, the path was, er, like
a, ah screw it, it felt like it
was my life and I was walking
through it. This is crazy isn't
it?

RICH (seriously)
Keep going Sam.

SAMSON
Well I reached this crossroad type
part in the path. In that state I
figured it resembled my choice of,
er, direction in life you know?
But, the thing is that, I didn't
stop to consider the other routes.
I didn't really look at them at
all. I went straight on. It felt
so natural though. It was just a
few days after I'd decided to join
the force. Carrying on down that
path reassured me that I was
heading in the right direction. It
was so comforting. It was
beautiful. You know I mentioned
the church and the, er, graveyard?

RICH
I remember Sam.

SAMSON
Well I saw it from the gap in the
trees along the path and my head
started swimming with thoughts of,
well I guess it was about death.
At that point I knew I could stray
from my path and go back but I
didn't. I realised I had to follow
it to the end. It was so clear to
me. That's what I did. The path
ended at the graveyard and I
(MORE)

64.

SAMSON (cont'd)
walked home. Back to my family. I
had the most contented sleep I've
ever had. Whenever something comes
up these days, something like
this, I think back to that
evening. It's nearly a religious
thing I guess. Read into it what
you will.

RICH
That's the first time you've ever
told anyone that isn't it?

SAMSON
You picked up on that didn't you?
I thought you would Rich.

RICH
I've got things that I've never
shared with anyone. Integral
secrets. Integral to the...cosmic
plot if you believe in such
things. (BEAT) Paths in the forest
all looks the same Sam. No matter
which one you picked, you'd get
the right one. The fact that you
carried on tells me you somehow
knew that.

Short silent pause.

SAMSON
It's going to be different when
you're gone. Still, I reckon I'll
be able to out shoot whoever
replaces you.

RICH
(joking)
You serious? You can barely out
shoot me!

SAMSON
Yeah? We may find out later.

            RICH
      (swatting the fly
       again)
I hope it doesn't come to that
Sammy.

65.

SAMSON
Yeah, I'm with ya on that one.

RICH
(points ahead)
Hang on, that looks like them.

SAMSON
I got 'em.

CUT TO:

EXT. DESERT HIGHWAY - DAY

From a distance. The cop car pulls up to the SUV where JUNE,
HARRY, DAVE and JOHNSON are waiting outside. HARRY is
sitting on the bonnet of the car and JUNE has her arm around
him. DAVE is walking to greet the cops and JOHNSON is
surveying the desert. The cop car stops and the two officers
get out and greet DAVE. We see them walking over to HARRY.
HARRY looks up.

            SAMSON
      (shaking hands
       with Harry)
Hi there Mr Colt, I'm sorry to
hear about you wife and son, er,
this is Officer Rich Lancer and I
am Officer Samson Errand. You can
call us Rich and Sam.

HARRY
It's good to see you, call me
Harry if you want.

SAMSON
Will do. We're here to escort you
back to the station in Basetown
where we will we keep you up to
date with the events but more
importantly, safe.

JOHNSON
(walking over)
What? Why can't we go back?

SAMSON
Well the boss says that it'll be
quicker to get down to our end.
Like I say, you'll be safer there.

66.

JOHNSON
And why won't he be safe with us?

SAMSON
(looking at Harry)
Because from what we've heard, it
looks like who ever the kidnapper
is, they might be heading this
way. The guys at your end are sure
that your wife and boy are still
alive because there was no blood
or any sign of homicide at your
residence. That means that this is
a kidnapping. Kidnappers usually
have a motive and most of the time
large sums of money are involved
in that motive.

            RICH
      (removing his
       sunglasses)
We've also heard that you've come
into such a large sum of money, as
have your parents. That right
there is a likely motive.

JOHNSON
(suddenly angry)
What? We haven't got that money
yet!

RICH
Look sir, we weren't given the
details. We just want to protect
you, that's all.

HARRY
(to Johnson)
It's your fault you know.

JOHNSON
You can't blame me for this.

            HARRY
      (getting to his
       feet)
You told the media about it!
Christ, anyone can look in the
phone book for us! Look up my
house! You even said that I'd be
away. But only us. Any wannabe
kidnapper could figure out that
Laura and Henry were alone!

67.

            JOHNSON
      (closing in on
       Harry)
You didn't need to come!

            HARRY
      (pushing Johnson
       to the ground)
Oh, according to you I did and you
didn't need to tell the whole
world about it!

SAMSON steps in between them and holds HARRY back.

RICH
Quit it you two. We don't know
exactly what is going on here and
perhaps it is best that it stays
that way. But right now all four
of you are coming to the station.

DAVE
He's right. It's the best thing to
do.

CUT TO:

INT. TRAILER - DAY

KAREN, KYLE and KEVIN are gathered around the speaker that
is picking up the conversation beside the road.

KAREN
It sounds like they're heading to
Basetown police station.

KYLE
That means they're on course.

KEVIN
What the hell is happening with
Harry's wife?

KYLE
I don't know but I'll try and
start a police radio scanner and
media network scanner. It'll be
difficult to pick anything up
though out here.

KAREN
We should head for Basetown too.

68.

KEVIN
I'm on it.

He jumps out the back of the trailer and runs to the cab.
KAREN pushes the switch and the door rises and shuts.

The lorry accelerates across the desert.

CUT TO:

EXT. POLICE STATION, BASETOWN - DAY

Basetown is a small dusty town and the police station is
located near the entrance from the highway. A mechanic's
garage lies opposite and there are various cafes and small
shops along a dusty main road. Beyond this lay several
houses and further still we can just make out the edge of a
forest.
The cop car followed by the SUV pulls up to the station.

RICH, SAMSON and HARRY exit the cop car and the other three
from the SUV. They enter the station.

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE STATION - DAY

The group of six walk through a waiting room lined with
steel benches and familiar paintings. A desk lies at the end
of the room. It is similar to the solicitor's office. A thin
young man, Edward, known as EDDIE to the cops, sits behind
the desk reading the same TV magazine as the receptionist.
He looks up as they approach.

EDDIE
Hey Rich, Hey Sammy how's it
going?

SAMSON
Hey Eddie, this is Harry Colt and
co from the highway.

EDDIE
Hey there sorry, about all this.
Take 'em through boys.

RICH and SAMSON lead the group through a set of doors past
the desk. Through the doors lies a small, cluttered room.
Five desks are in the middle of the room with various
documents scattered across them. A cabinet of guns is on one
wall next to a coffee machine. A small fridge sits on a

69.

table next to these. Another officer, DOUGLAS RUSSELS, is
seated at one of the desks. He is balding and large, but
looks friendly. He stands to greet them.

DOUGLAS
Hi there, I'm Chief Russels, but
feel free to call me Douglas. Or
Dougie, whatever takes your fancy.

DAVE
(shaking his hand)
Hi, I'm Dave Reilly, this is my
sister June and half brothers
Johnson Becket and Harry Colt.

DOUGLAS
June Reilly? My wife, er and I,
love your books.

JUNE
Thanks, it's always nice, and
rare, to meet a fan.

DOUGLAS
Yeah she, er we, love the ones
about that old detective guy.
Gripping stuff.

JUNE
Thanks. I'm thinking about
reviving that series.

DOUGLAS
That would be great! That "Last
Call" was good but it's just not
the same.

JUNE
(slightly deflated)
Well, I'll see what I can do.

SAMSON
(to Douglas)
Okay, Boss, how about we fill them
in?

DOUGLAS
What? Oh yeah, sure thing. Please
take a seat, where you can find
one.

Everyone scrambles to sit down.

70.

DOUGLAS
What we heard from the guys on the
case is that Mr Colt should expect
a ransom call soon. Seeing as it
happened last night, the kidnapper
has probably settled somewhere and
is planning on making his demands.
Now we are ready to trace the call
from here and the officers on the
case can act as they see fit. We
reckon it is unlikely that the
felon will demand that police stay
out of it due to the nature of the
kidnapping- doors shot down and
such. It's hard to avoid police
attention that way. Anyway, you
are here for safety reasons only.
Your parents are in protective
custody and they are safe. You
don't need to worry about them.

JOHNSON
I've got a better idea. Why don't
we call Laura?

HARRY
What?

JOHNSON
We might be able to found out
where they are. She might have her
phone on her.

SAMSON
It's too risky. You might scare
the kidnapper.

JOHNSON
I know that but we could get some
information like a location at
least. Harry, listen, wouldn't you
rather hear from your wife than
stay in the dark. The kidnapper
isn't going to give up because of
one call.

RICH
He could be right about that. One
call won't put him off the money.
It's up to you Harry.

CUT TO:

71.

INT. GRAHAM'S CAR - DAY

GRAHAM
Listen Mrs, I've got to make a
quick stop and get the energy up.
Now, when I do this little stop
over you and your boy will stay in
that there cage and if you make
any attempt to escape or get
attention I'll start shooting. You
got that?

GRAHAM turns into the service station that the others
stopped at. He stops the car and turns to LAURA.

GRAHAM
I asked you a question Mrs Colt.

LAURA stares at him.

LAURA
I got it. I heard you.

GRAHAM
Alright then. Also I'm gonna need
your phone. Don't pretend like you
don't have it cos I'm not afraid
to search ya.

LAURA exhales, retrieves her phone from her jeans and slams
it into GRAHAM's open palm.

GRAHAM
Thanks a lot. I'll get you
something too.

He waves at HENRY.

LAURA pulls HENRY closer.

GRAHAM
(winking)
See ya soon.

CUT TO:

EXT. SERVICE STATION - DAY

GRAHAM gets out of the car and slams the door, locking it
behind him. He heads over to the service station, swatting
at a fly on the way. Once inside he rummages around in the

72.

fridge section and pulls out a few bottles. He dumps them on
the counter and grabs some snacks. He smiles at the clerk.

GRAHAM
Long journey ahead.

The clerk just nods at him and begins to scan the products.

GRAHAM
So, do ya get much, er, business
around here?

CLERK
Not much. Been fairly empty for a
while. Got a few people through
here yesterday. Spilt some gas on
the court. No worries though, gave
me something to do. Not much up
that way. Only Basetown and the
forest really. It's not tourist
season right now to be fair.

GRAHAM
(swatting a fly)
Yeah well, that's life eh? Damn, I
think that fly followed me in
here.

He reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a magazine page.
It is REBECCA's article. There is a picture of the family
(minus JOHN, who has his own picture next to them) together.

GRAHAM
You seen any of these people
around here?

The clerk looks down at the picture.

GRAHAM
I guess they'd been a bit older
now though. Recognise them?

CLERK
Can't say that I do. Sorry.

He looks again at GRAHAM. GRAHAM sighs and pulls out a
pistol with a large silencer.

GRAHAM
Listen to me sir, I didn't want to
do this but you being a complete
shit heap didn't help. Look, I can
assure you that I won't hurt you
or any of these people. In fact,
(MORE)

73.

GRAHAM (cont'd)
this might not even be a real gun.
But you can't really take that
risk though. Now think hard. Have
you seen this people? Did they
happen to spill any gas?

CLERK
(shaking)
Shit, oh shit, er... yeah that
guy, I think that guy was here
yesterday. And that one.

He points to JOHNSON and HARRY in the picture.

CLERK
They had an SUV, Im sure it was
them shit don't kill me.

GRAHAM
See where you get with a little
prompting?

He puts the page away again and pulls out a leather wallet.

GRAHAM
How much for the er, food and
drinks?

CLERK
Shit, oh, what? Er 4.70.

            GRAHAM
      (handing him a 5
       note)
Here you go.

            CLERK
      (reaching for
       change)
Shit, thanks here you go.

GRAHAM
Thanks a lot. For everything.

He holsters the pistol and grabs the bagged food and drinks.
He walks away from the quaking clerk behind the till and
counts through the change.

            GRAHAM
      (pulling out his
       gun)
Wait, you short changed me here!
What kind of person short changes
            (MORE)

74.

GRAHAM (cont'd)
an armed man!

He fires the gun at the clerk who is off screen. We hear the
clerk fall behind the till. GRAHAM holsters the gun again
and proceeds out of the service station. He looks to his car
and sees that LAURA and HENRY haven't raised attention.
Suddenly, LAURA's phone rings.
GRAHAM pulls it out of his pocket and checks the ID.
It is HARRY.

SPLIT-SCREEN

GRAHAM is on the left and HARRY back at the police station
is on the right.

GRAHAM accept the call but doesn't speak.

HARRY
Hello? Laura?

GRAHAM is smiling at this.

GRAHAM
She's not here right this minute
but I can get her for you Harry.
Do you want to speak to your boy
too?

HARRY
Who are you? If you've hurt
them...

GRAHAM
(cutting him off)
You'll what? I'm the one in
control here Harry. But, to answer
your question like a decent human
being, I'm an ex-colleague of your
father. You might've heard of me,
the name's Graham Bud. Right then,
my go. I already know who you are
on more levels than you can
imagine simply because YOU called
ME so my question is this: Where
are you Harry?

HARRY
Let me speak to them.

GRAHAM
Where are you?

75.

HARRY
Put Laura on you fuck!

GRAHAM
Oh you do not want to be calling
me that. I just killed a checkout
guy beacause he short changed me
Harry. Here's some free advice
though. Think of what I'd do to
your wife and kid. Put their
safety before your feelings, got
it? I'm going to ask you again.
Where are you Harry?

HARRY
We're at the polcie station in
Basetown. You want the money don't
you? You'd better bring Laura and
Henry or you can forget that. Let
me speak to them.

            GRAHAM
      (getting in the
       car and starting
       it)
Don't forget Harry, I'm in control
here. It's not what you'd like but
that's the reality.

He hangs up and pockets the phone, swatting the fly again.

GRAHAM
(RE: the fly)
If you follow me to my car, I will
kill you.

END SPLIT-SCREEN

WIPES TO:

Back in the police station with HARRY. He just stares at the
phone before turning to the others.

HARRY
They're coming. I think he was at
the service station, he said he
killed a clerk.

DAVE
Who is he?

76.

HARRY
Said he was Graham Bud. Dad's old
partner.

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE STATION, BASETOWN - NIGHT

It is evening. The four cops are now armed with various
weapons and are waiting near the door. JOHNSON comes up to
them.

JOHNSON
I just need to get some air
quickly. I'll just go for a wander
to the garage.

DOUGLAS
Hmm, alright, I guess he won't be
here yet. You armed by any chance?

JOHNSON
Yep.

JOHNSON pulls out the now loaded gun.

DOUGLAS
Alright, be careful. It's pretty
empty out there but still,
watchout.

JOHNSON walks out of the station.

DOUGLAS
I've radioed for backup but they
won't get here before this Bud guy
does. We'll have to handle this
ourseleves.

SAMSON
Shouldn't be a problem.

DOUGLAS
It was difficult to get through
though, some kind of
intereference.

RICH
Yeah, we had that problem too in
the cruiser.

77.

EDDIE
Same, the T.V. has been snowing
all day. There's something going
on here.

DOUGLAS
Yeah well, let's worry about this
Bud problem first.

CUT TO:

EXT. GARAGE - NIGHT

JOHNSON is walking aimlessly around the garage. Suddenly,
over his shoulder we see KEVIN in the same blue hoodie with
the camera around his neck. JOHNSON sees him too.

JOHNSON
What the...

KEVIN panics and runs, almost tripping over. JOHNSON chases
him. They run across an area of spare car parts. KEVIN
knocks a heap of tyres over but JOHNSON jumps them. KEVIN
rounds a corner and we see the lorry. KEVIN runs to the
lorry and bangs loudly on a side door of the trailer.

CUT TO:

INT. LORRY TRAILER - NIGHT

Inside the trailer.

KYLE hears the bangs and opens the side door slightly.

KEVIN
Help, I think he saw me!

KYLE
(opening the door)
Shit Kevin!

KEVIN jumps in and just as KYLE is about to close the door
JOHNSON jams it with the gun. KYLE gives KEVIN and evil look
and opens the door.

KYLE
(RE: the gun)
Don't worry Johnson, you won't
need that.

78.

JOHNSON
(out of breath)
What...what the hell is this?

KYLE
Ah Johnson, you er, weren't
supposed to see all this.
Obviously.

JOHNSON
(to Kevin)
Why the hell were you taking
pictures of us?

KEVIN
(his eyes wide)
It's all part of the master plan
Johnson.

KAREN
Kevin, knock that mystic crap off.

KEVIN
No sorry, I was just trying to
keep up a vague sense of secrecy
about this whole situation. But
now that's going to prove
difficult isn't it?

KAREN
Your fault.

JOHNSON
(RE: Kevin)
What is he talking about?

KYLE
He gets like this sometimes.
Imagine being with him all day in
this trailer.

KAREN
Yeah well that's why he drives.

JOHNSON
That's all great and interesting,
this thing you've got going on
between you, but I've got a loaded
gun and a few questions that
really need answers. Now.

79.

KYLE
Yeah okay we realise our cover's
blown. No one needs a gun here. Or
anywhere really. You don't need to
threaten us.

JOHNSON
Alright, I'll interrogate you
instead.

KYLE
Er, ok.

            JOHNSON
      (points gun at
       KYLE)
Have you been following us since
we left?

KYLE
Before that even. All this stuff
is set to trace you. We can listen
in on bits of your conversations
too. Put the gun down though.

KEVIN
Yeah there's some good shit back
here. State of the art, WINC shit.

JOHNSON points the gun at KEVIN instead.

KYLE
(RE: the gun)
Actually, put it there.

JOHNSON points the gun at KYLE again.

KYLE
Okay, I hope you're listening to
everything else I say though.

JOHNSON
(ignoring him)
Wait, we nearly hit you yesterday!

FLASHBACK

Replay the moment in the car when HARRY swerves to avoid the
lorry. It is the same lorry as the one they are in now.

Now back to the present. JOHNSON is pacing around looking at
all the equipment.

80.

JOHNSON
Why? Why the photos and
surveillance? Is this to do with
dad's will?

They remain silent.

BEAT

JOHNSON pulls out the gun.

KYLE
Hey Karen hasn't had a go with
that yet! (Gets a look from KAREN)
Alright fine. Yes. Your father
wanted us to follow you to make
sure you got the money. Together.

KAREN
He gave us directions to the money
and he told us that we had to
guide you if you got lost or were
unable to make it.

JOHNSON
Okay, that actually makes sense
since it's dad we're talking
about. Why though? What the hell
is the point?

KAREN
Who knows? Maybe he wanted to make
sure you got the money so that
he'd be guilt free.

JOHNSON
God this keeps getting stranger.
Okay, if you've got all this
spying gear...

KEVIN
(correcting him)
Surveillance Equipment.

JOHNSON (CONT'D)
...then you've heard what happened
to Laura and Henry?

KYLE
We've caught bits of it.

81.

JOHNSON
Okay, what can you tell me about
Graham Bud?

KYLE
Bud? What's he got to do with it?

JOHNSON
He's got Laura and Henry. And he's
on his way here.

KYLE
Oh God. This is bad then.

JOHNSON
Tell me about Bud.

KYLE
Bud is dangerous. Bud is
psychotic. I last heard that he'd
become something of a recluse. I
also heard that he got involved in
the arms business and became some
kind of gun nut but that's just
hearsay. What I do know is that
he's pissed off at John and that
means he's pissed off at you. It
looks like you've inherited his
grudge.

JOHNSON
Yeah. Evidently.

KYLE
Bud was the best Private Detective
that this state had for years.
John set up WINC with him and they
instantly became huge.

Montage of photos. JOHN and GRAHAM are shaking hands,
setting up cameras, consulting a client, gathered around
blueprints.

KYLE
When we came to work for John he
and Bud were doing fine but soon
it changed.

KAREN
Graham wanted change. He wanted to
deal with the cheaters and the
abusers. John was happy to reveal
their secrets but Graham wanted
more. He wanted to hurt them.
(MORE)

82.

KAREN (cont'd)
Sometimes to kill them.

KEVIN
That's what happened one night.
Graham broke into one of the
target's apartments. A
particularly nasty case that one.
The husband was a secret gambler
and cheater but he also beat his
wife when he lucked out at the
slots.

KYLE
Graham Bud killed him.

FLASHBACK

P.O.V. We are carrying a half full bottle of vodka. We hear
knocks at the front door of our modest sized apartment. We
approach the door and look through the peep hole. A dark
figure is seen in the hallway. We open the door and yell
incoherently. Then we throw the bottle at the figure. He
ducks and the bottle shatters on the far wall. The figure
stands up, pushes us into our apartment and we stumble. We
are now at his knee height. The figure draws a silenced
pistol and fires two shots into us. Our vision blurs and
then the screen goes black.

Back in the trailer.

KYLE
Bud got off murder charges as he
claimed it was self defence. There
were no witnesses so he was
excused. The whole case was
probably not as clean as that.
John was sure that Bud had bribed
people, important people. He also
didn't like the direction Bud was
taking the company in so fired
him.

KAREN
Bud didn't get any money out of
it. He tried desperately to
survive and set up a prison
security company called Lockdown
but couldn't maintain it so he
sold it to a rich Texan a while
back.

83.

JOHNSON
No wonder he's pissed. He's
harboured a grudge against our
family since he was fired. Shit,
he must have heard that WINC was
sold to Lockdown and that we
inherited another ten million.

KEVIN
He thinks that money is his.

KYLE
You said he was on his way?

JOHNSON
Yeah, Harry called Laura but Bud
had the phone. He's coming to the
police station now.

KYLE
We could stop him!

KEVIN
I'll drive then.

He jumps out of the side door and runs into the cab.

The lorry starts and pulls away from the garage.

CUT TO:

EXT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT

We see JOHNSON walking to the mechanic's garage. This scene
occurs whilst he is in the trailer.

CUT TO:

INT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT

The cops are gathered in the waiting room by the doors. They
are all armed with shotguns. DAVE, JUNE and HARRY are
waiting in the office area.

DAVE
It's getting dark. They should be
here soon.

HARRY
He better not've hurt them.

84.

JUNE
It'll be alright Harry, they'll
get him.

HARRY
But what will he do when he finds
out we haven't got the money?

They remain silent.

DOUGLAS (O.C.)
That looks like it may be them!

They run out to the cops.

CUT TO:

EXT. POLICE STATION - NIGHT

Graham's car pulls up in the middle of the road opposite the
station. The cops, guns raised, exit the station and
approach the car slowly. The other three remain in the
entrance.

The car door opens and GRAHAM steps out holding his shotgun.
He casually walks to the back of the car, pulls out the
still silenced pistol, points the shotgun at the cops and
the pistol at the back of the car. LAURA and HENRY are
looking out of the back window.

GRAHAM
(smiling)
How ya doing fellas. And you
three. How are you holding up?

SAMSON
Drop the guns Bud.

GRAHAM
No, I won't be doing that yet.

RICH
Let them go.

GRAHAM
Won't be doing that either, unless
you happen to have my money
somewhere in that station.

DOUGLAS
C'mon Bud, let's sort this out.

85.

GRAHAM
Now you're all talking at me.
That's just gonna get confusing
for a guy like me. I want to talk
to Harry Colt.

Without pausing HARRY steps away form the station, shrugging
off JUNE's arm. He walks past the cops and stands about six
feet from GRAHAM.

GRAHAM
Ah, Harry Colt. We spoke earlier
on the phone didn't we?

HARRY
We did. We were talking about
control.

GRAHAM
I remember well. I believe I still
have the advantage. Wouldn't you
say so?

HARRY
No. I wouldn't.

GRAHAM
But Harry, you're not blind. You
can clearly see, even in this
dark, that I have a gun on you and
your beloved wife and son.

HARRY (cooly)
True, but I know where the money
is. If you for some reason do kill
them then you no longer have
anything to bargain with. These
four armed officers will have no
choice but at fire on you. I don't
believe you'll survive.

GRAHAM
(chuckling)
That was cold Harry. (BEAT)
Reminds me of myself, like a
mirror, or a photo. I hope you
aren't slipping into the same
state that I did once. You, know,
I barely came back from that
alive. And do you know who's fault
it was? That belonged to your
father Harry. That means you know
who's fault it is now.

86.

We hear the sound of a lorry approaching.

GRAHAM
Now, where's my money?

Lorry increases speed. The noise grows louder.

HARRY
It's not here. You let them go and
I'll take you to it.

The lorry appears from behind the garage.

GRAHAM
(shouting)
What the hell do you take me for
Harry! And what the hell is that
noise!

GRAHAM spins around and sees the lorry coming at him. He
fires wildly with the pistol and rolls behind his car.
Inside the lorry cab we see the front window shatter and
blood explode from KEVIN's shoulder.
He loses control of the lorry and it narrowly misses GRAHAM
and his car.
The four cops jump out of the way as do JUNE and DAVE just
before the lorry ploughs into the station. The front
entrance of the station collapses. GRAHAM's car is behind
the lorry.
He gets up and starts shooting over the car's roof. RICH is
hit and collapses to the floor. The other three cops fire
back as HARRY, JUNE and DAVE take cover.
Inside the car we see LAURA and HENRY duck under exploding
glass as the windows are shot.
GRAHAM pulls open the passenger door and slides across to
the driver's seat.
Just then, the lorry door opens downwards and slams onto the
bonnet of the car. JOHNSON runs out, gun raised at GRAHAM
through the windscreen.
JOHNSON is standing on the lorry door that is on the bonnet
of the car.
Suddenly, the car reverses and JOHNSON falls forward onto
the bonnet.
The car accelerates and JOHNSON holds on, his legs swinging.

The car keeps reversing and turning.
JOHNSON can't hold on any longer. He flies off the car and
rolls across the dusty road.
The car accelerates through the town, past the cafes and
small shops and towards the forest edge.
JOHNSON lies on the road, breathing heavily.
The cops rush over to RICH and HARRY, JUNE and DAVE rush
over to JOHNSON.

87.

KAREN and KYLE dive into the wrecked station to retrieve
KEVIN from the cab of the lorry.

DAVE and HARRY haul JOHNSON to his feet. KYLE and KAREN pull
KEVIN from the wrecked cab. SAMSON kneels at RICH's side.

SAMSON
He's still breathing but it looks
bad!

He applies pressure to RICH's chest to slow the blood loss.

EDDIE
We need the first aid kit.

DOUGLAS
There's no chance, the station's
ruined, we can't get back in
there!

EDDIE
What about the pharmacy?

DOUGLAS
Good idea. You two carry Rich.

SAMSON and EDDIE lift RICH up. KEVIN is leaning on KYLE's
shoulder but is able to walk. JOHNSON can walk too with help
from DAVE. They all follow DOUGLAS into the now silent
deserted town. There are no houses here, just shops. DOUGLAS
runs up to one of these shops and after unsuccessfully
trying the door handle he kicks it down. No alarm goes
sounds.

DOUGLAS
No alarms around here. The locals
don't see the point. Nothing like
this ever happens.

CUT TO:

INT. PHARMACY - NIGHT

He flicks on the pharmacy's lights and walks over to the
till where he promptly shoves everything off.

The others have followed him in.

            DOUGLAS
      (indicating the
       till)
Put Rich up here.

88.

SAMSON and EDDIE lay RICH on the till.

JOHNSON leans carefully against a wall and KEVIN sits down
on a chair opposite the till.

DOUGLAS
(To Eddie)
We need gauze or bandages.
Quickly!

EDDIE runs off to look for them. SAMSON is at RICH's head.

SAMSON
You're going to be fine Rich.
We'll take care of you.

RICH is still alive, as he tries to talk. He eyes begin to
roll and his hands shake.

SAMSON
Stay with us Rich!

EDDIE returns with an armful of bandages. He rips them from
the packets as DOUGLAS reveals the bullet wound. SAMSON
again applies pressure to it.

DOUGLAS
(pointing at Kevin)
Help him Eddie, we've got it here.

EDDIE kneels down next to KEVIN. KYLE and KAREN are also
gathered around him. EDDIE rips apart the shirt covering the
bullet.

EDDIE
Shit, the bullet went right
through. I need to stop the blood
loss.

He grabs some bandages and begins to wrap them around
KEVIN's shoulder. KEVIN winces.

EDDIE
You'll be ok, the bullet missed
the bone. You'll need to change
the bandage regularly to prevent
infection.

KEVIN
(breathless)
Thanks.

DOUGLAS is examining RICH's wound.

89.

DOUGLAS
Christ, I think it's punctured his
lung.

SAMSON
No! Stay here Rich, we'll help
you.

RICH is shaking all over.

RICH
S...Sammy, the house... you take
it..

DOUGLAS is trying to clean the wound but more blood seeps
through SAMSON's hands.

SAMSON
No Rich, it's yours. You'll keep
it.

RICH
This is my path...Sammy, I'm
taking it. Past the church. The
house is yours now partner.
There's a note...

RICH suddenly lies still and his eyes look towards SAMSON.

SAMSON
(crying slightly)
What? Rich, stay with us!

RICH
(very softly)
There's a note there...for you,
for them. At home Sammy.

RICH now lies completely still. DOUGLAS stands back from the
body, his hands covered in RICH's blood.
SAMSON holds RICH's still head and closes his eyes with his
hands.

SAMSON
I'll look after your house Rich.
Don't worry about that.

DOUGLAS and EDDIE stand looking at the body.

DOUGLAS
(To Harry.)
We need to call the guys from your
end.

90.

            HARRY
      (also looking at
       RICH)
They'll get here too late. I'm
going to end this. I'm going to
get the money and get Laura and
Henry back.

SAMSON
I think you need to tell us what's
happening here.

            DOUGLAS
      (pointing at
       KEVIN, KAREN and
       KYLE)
Yeah and who the hell are they?

JOHNSON
When our dad died he left us a lot
of money. The only thing is that
he left it somewhere near the
woods. We think he left it in a
cabin somewhere.

KYLE
We're here on their father's
behalf to make sure they get the
money. Bud is also after the money
and he wants revenge.

JUNE
What for?

KAREN
Your father fired him from WINC
after a disagreement. This was
after Graham helped set it up.

HARRY
Now he's got Laura and Hen and
he's out there. I'm not going o
stand here and wait for the other
cops to show up. I'm going after
him.

DAVE
If you're going after him and the
money then we're coming too. As
much as you'd like to believe it,
you can't do this by yourself.

91.

SAMSON
I'm coming too. He killed my
partner. All there is too it.

            KYLE
      (looking at KEVIN
       and KYLE)
We know the way there without the
map. We came to help if something
like this happened.

            KEVIN
      (getting to his
       feet with a
       grimace)
We can't take the truck. It's been
totalled. Trust me, I'd know.

KAREN
What about your shoulder?

KEVIN
Don't worry, I'll manage.

SAMSON
You three can ride with me and
show me the way to this cabin.

DOUGLAS
Eddie and I'll wait here and take
care of the town and Rich until
the others show up.

HARRY
Okay that's it then. We're leaving
now.

They begin to leave the pharmacy.

JOHNSON
Oh shit, I lost my gun.

            KEVIN
      (gripping his
       shoulder)
Yeah and I'm gonna need a lot of
painkillers before we go.

KYLE
I'll go grab you some. I've never
raided a pharmacy before.

92.

            JOHNSON
      (searching for the
       gun)
It's not as great as it sounds.

KEVIN
Make sure they're strong ones!

HARRY and DAVE stand silently for a second.

DAVE
We'll get going in a minute Harry.

HARRY
Yeah I know.

DAVE
And er Harry, I reckon you'll need
some sleep soon. How about if I
drive for a bit.

            HARRY
      (smiling slightly,
       dropping the keys
       into Dave's hand)
Don't give them to Johnson.

They look over to Johnson who is still searching for the
gun.

JOHNSON
Ah, leave it. Ten million can buy
me all the guns in the world.

The others just look at him with worried expressions.

CUT TO:

EXT. FOREST ROAD - DAY

It is dawn and the sun is just hitting the road through the
trees surrounding it.
The forest is dense and textured in the early morning light.
The rays of the sun highlight the emerald green leaves of
the trees.
It is a serene place.

The cop car leads the way and the SUV follows closely behind
it.

CUT TO:

93.

INT. COP CAR - DAY

SAMSON is driving. KYLE is in the passenger seat and KAREN
is behind him. KEVIN sits next to her.

KYLE
(turning to SAMSON)
How long did you two work together
for?

SAMSON
Must have been close to fifteen
years. God, he was getting out at
the end of the month. He was
fixing up a house near the river
where we are headed. Said he'd be
able to settle there after his
retirement, alone. Never was much
of a family man, Rich. I think he
had a bad time at home as a kid.

KYLE
I'm sorry about what happened back
there, for what good it will do.
Can't help but feel that we
brought this on you. We appreciate
the help though.

SAMSON
Some things you can't stop or
change. Bad things happen all the
time. Don't worry about it. It's
why I came out here. I don't know
what Harry is planning on doing
but I won't get in his way. I know
what I've go to do.

There is silence for a few seconds.

SAMSON
So you guys followed them all the
way here?

KAREN
Yeah we stuck to the desert so
they couldn't see us. Followed
them with infra-red and night
vision too. We also managed to
pick up on some of their
conversations.

94.

KYLE
Hi-tech stuff. And John Watcher
was the pioneer of it all.

SAMSON
I remember reading that article
about him. The one by his wife.

KEVIN
Wasn't his wife. He never married.
Made it hard for his kids. (BEAT)
Never was much of a family man
either.

KYLE
That's why we're here. Have to
make sure they find the money.

SAMSON
Okay, from what I understand, he
was a bit of an eccentric but I'm
struggling to figure out why
didn't he just give them the money
like he gave up the company?

KYLE
I'm sure he had his reasons.

CUT TO:

INT. SUV - DAY

DAVE is driving. JUNE is in the passenger seat. JOHNSON is
sitting behind her and HARRY behind DAVE. JOHNSON is looking
at the map.

JOHNSON
So it looks like we cross the
bridge over the river and the
cabin or whatever it is should be
around there. It might even be
right next to the river judging by
this.

HARRY's phone suddenly rings.

            HARRY
      (looking at the
       screen)
I think it's him.

He answers it.

95.

HARRY
Bud?

JOHNSON
Put it on speaker.

HARRY does so.

GRAHAM
This is it Harry, this is your
last chance.

HARRY
(calmly)
Put Laura on.

            GRAHAM
      (after a short
       pause)
Fine. Since we're so close.

LAURA
(shaking voice)
Harry?

HARRY
(smiling)
Laura! Has he hurt you or Hen?
Where is Hen, is he there? Where
are you? I love you Laura.

LAURA
Hen's here Harry, we're okay now.
I love you too! Listen, listen to
me, he's....

She's cut off. There is a shuffling noise over the phone for
a few seconds.

HARRY (desparate)
Laura? Laura are you there? Laura!

GRAHAM
Last chance Harry. Keep watching
your cop friend.

All four of them look out of the windscreen at the cop car.

CUT TO:

96.

EXT. FOREST ROAD - DAY

For a few seconds the cars are travelling as they were.
As they approach a crossroad a gunshot is heard off screen
and the cop car is hit just above it's front left wheel.
SAMSON loses control of the car and it veers to it's left
onto the wrong side of the road.
The SUV just clips the back of it and comes to a juddering
halt.
GRAHAM comes striding form the forest on the left, Laura's
phone in his left hand to his ear and a gun in his right.

CUT TO:

INT. SUV - DAY

Everyone is watching GRAHAM out of the windows.

JOHNSON
Shit he got them!

GRAHAM (via the phone's speakers)
Get out of the car Harry. Just
you. I don't want to see your
trigger happy half brother or his
gun.

Harry grabs the map from JOHNSON. He opens the door and
steps out.

HARRY (into the phone)
It's just me!

Graham ends the call and pockets the phone. He keeps the gun
aimed at Harry.

GRAHAM
Come to me. Slowly now.

As HARRY starts walking over to GRAHAM, SAMSON jumps out of
the cop car and aims a pistol at GRAHAM.

SAMSON
Drop the gun Bud!

GRAHAM
You drop your gun or you're gonna
be seeing your partner pretty
soon.

SAMSON
Drop it!

97.

HARRY is getting closer, still holding the map and phone.
GRAHAM is pointing the gun at him.

GRAHAM
I'm not pissing around. If you
don't put your gun down I'll kill
you and I'll kill him. Make his
wife a widow and kid fatherless.
Do you want that on your shoulders
too?

            SAMSON
      (throwing the gun
       down)
Dammmit!

GRAHAM (slight smile)
That's better. Guess you won't be
meeting your partner again so
soon.

He grabs HARRY and puts him between him and the others as a
human shield.

GRAHAM
If anyone follows us I'll kill all
three of them.

With a final look around he shoves HARRY into the forest and
runs after him.
The others get out of their cars and stand in silence as
they melt into the emerald green foliage.

            KYLE
      (breaking the
       silence)
He's going for the money but we
can get there first.

            SAMSON
      (retrieving the
       gun)
How far is it?

KAREN
I think from the crossroads here,
aout another mile at the most.

            SAMSON
      (surveying the
       bullet punctured
       wheel arc)
The car should hold in there. We
            (MORE)

98.

SAMSON (cont'd)
have to make it.

They turn back to their respective cars.

JOHNSON
I'm driving this time. No
arguments.

DAVE
Er sorry, Harry told me not to let
you.

JOHNSON
Harry's not here right now.

DAVE (stunned)
Why say that right now? Do you not
have the ability to think before
you say crap like that?

JOHNSON
(clearly ashamed)
(BEAT) Okay, you drive and don't
tell Harry I said that.

CUT TO:

EXT. FOREST - DAY

GRAHAM is shoving HARRY through the forest, gun to his head.

HARRY
Where are they Bud?

GRAHAM
Not far now Harry.

HARRY
What are you going to do when you
get the money? How will you avoid
the cops from now on? You're
marked.

GRAHAM
You know Harry, ten million
dollars can get you a lot of
protection.

HARRY
Well this is all assuming the
money is there. You knew my
father, he could have created this
(MORE)

99.

HARRY (cont'd)
whole thing just for his own
deranged amusement before he died.

GRAHAM
For your sake I hope he didn't.

They exist the dense forestry and arrive on a dirt road.
GRAHAM's car is parked here. The blown out windows on the
caged part of the car have been covered in more steel mesh.
HARRY sees LAURA and HENRY through the mesh. He runs over to
the window. LAURA turns to see him.

HARRY
God, Laura!

He puts his fingers through the mesh and touches LAURA's
fingers.

HENRY too peers over the window frame.

HARRY
Hen, are you ok?

HENRY puts his fingers through the mesh and HARRY holds
them.

HARRY
Did he hurt you?

LAURA (through tears)
He hit me to keep me quiet. He
didn't get Henry though. I kept
him back.

GRAHAM approaches from behind and puts the gun to HARRY's
head.

GRAHAM
You'll have plenty of time to
catch up when I get the money you
know. Get in the car Harry.

He pulls HARRY to his feet and forces him into the passenger
seat. As HARRY turns to LAURA and HENRY, GRAHAM gets in the
driver's side.

CUT TO:

100.

INT. GRAHAM'S CAR - DAY

HARRY
It's going to be okay Laura. We'll
be fine.

GRAHAM
(starting the car)
Yep, I just want the money. That's
all.

HARRY
Why did you hit her?

GRAHAM
Ah, Harry you must know what it's
like. She couldn't keep quiet. She
was trying to undermine me. Trying
to persuade me to give it up, the
usual crap. Gave me the exact same
speech about the cops. Also, I
suggest that you try harder to
discipline your boy Harry. I could
help you out there.

HARRY
There's no way you're getting away
from this.

The car continues along the dirt path.

GRAHAM
Harry you need to think more
positively my friend. Keeps you
sane, positivity. Guess that was
your father's problem too.

HARRY
What do you mean?

GRAHAM
The surveillance business gets you
feeling like that you know.
Paranoia sets in, nightmares chase
you all night, catch up with you,
take hold and shake you. They wake
you up and drench you with cold
sweats every single night. Think
you're being followed constantly,
always checking behind you for
your nightmares. You know how I
dealt with it though? I killed
people. People who deserved it of
course. To get rid of the
(MORE)

101.

GRAHAM (cont'd)
nightmares. I'm not a monster
Harry. This situation may have
made me seem like one but you must
agree, that money belongs to me.
(BEAT) Give me that map Harry.

GRAHAM grabs the map and puts it on the steering wheel.

HENRY
Daddy, where are we going?

HARRY
Not far Hen, not far.

GRAHAM
Your daddy is right kiddo. Just
across the river.

HARRY
Don't talk to him.

GRAHAM
I'll do whatever I want Harry.
I've got the guns and, er, your
family in a cage in my car.

HARRY (nervously)
Think you're in control don't you?

GRAHAM
You're catching on aren't you?

HENRY
Daddy, I want to go home.

HARRY
(turning to him)
I know sweetie. It won't be long
before we do. (BACK TO GRAHAM) In
my job, I know all about control
and power. I know everything about
them and I know that you don't
have either.

GRAHAM
Games don't work on me Harry.
Neither does advertising. It
confuses and irritates me. My
mind, you see, it's too sharp. (TO
HENRY) Guess what Hen, I think we
made it already.

102.

CUT TO:

EXT. RIVER SIDE - DAY

The car rolls across a small bridge over the river. It
drives down the other side and pulls up on a small sandy
area.
The general area is very secluded. It is a beach area,
covered by large pebbles. The river runs close to the forest
line.