CONSPIRACY THEORY
an original screenplay by
Brian Helgeland
September 12, 1996
FADE IN:
INT. MANHATTAN STREETS - CAB - DAY
Behind the wheel: JERRY FLETCHER. Flat-out handsome if
not for his eyes. Someone rash, someone making an
uninformed decision might call them crazy eyes. He stops
across from an apartment building, TOOTS his HORN.
IN DOORWAY
A woman and a man, a CYNIC, appear. Jerry smiles as they
kiss goodnight. A bit of desperate passion. She watches
after him as he gets in the cab.
CYNIC
Luxembourg Towers on 7th.
INT. CAB
Jerry nods, rolls out. The Cynic watches the door to
1257 close, then sighs. Jerry looks at him in the
rearview.
JERRY
The sound of love.
CYNIC
Excuse me?
Jerry exhales an exaggerated sigh.
JERRY
That's love.
CYNIC
Love? Love's just a pretty way of
saying, 'I want to sleep with
you'. Love is bullshit.
JERRY
I live on tips, so don't be
offended, but you're a liar. I
saw you kiss. Admit it, this is
the street where love lives.
The Cynic looks back over his shoulder. Down love
street. As Jerry hangs a right, the Cynic faces forward.
JERRY
Love gives you wings. It makes
you fly. I don't even call it
love. I call it Geronimo.
CYNIC
Geronimo?
JERRY
Geronimo. When you're really in
love, you'll jump. Off the top of
the Empire State. Screaming
'Geronimo' the whole way down.
CYNIC
But you'll die. You'll squash
yourself. What's the point?
JERRY
Aren't you listening, man? Love
gives you wings.
The Cynic just smiles, leans back.
CYNIC
She must be some girl.
JERRY
I love her so bad. She just...
wrecks me. I would die for her.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Jerry stops at a light. A road crew are at work ahead.
A white strobe light warns motorists that they're here.
CYNIC
She feel the same about you?
Jerry can't take his eyes off the stroke. As he blinks.
JERRY
I don't know.
FLASH CUT TO:
SUBJECTIVE POV
Looking down as a man's arms are strapped to the arm of a
chair. The POV JERKING UP as the same is done with the
head. A kaleidoscope of flashing lights ahead, then
darkness as eyes are shut. They're forced open. We see
the reflection of blue eyes in glass as they're taped
open. As bright lights strobe...
BACK TO TAXI
Jerry stares at the light, transfixed.
JERRY
I never told her.
CYNIC
Why the hell not?
JERRY
I, uh, I have some problems.
The traffic light glows green; Jerry doesn't see it. The
sound of conspiratorial WHISPERS fill the taxi.
FLASH CUT TO:
SUBJECTIVE POV
The contents of a syringe pumped into the strapped arm.
The walls begin to melt. The WHISPERS CONTINUE.
GARBLED, but their tone is perfectly clear. Threatening.
Cabalistic. Human forms appear. Stretched impossibly
long, melting along with the walls.
We CLOSE ON the reflection of a dozen pair of the same
taped-open eyes. The WHISPERING CUTS SHORT. Ominously.
The eyes dart from side-to-side as FOOTSTEPS approach.
The eyes suddenly widen in agony. As Jerry's scream of
pain becomes the BLARE of a HORN, we find ourselves back
in the...
TAXI
Going about 60 mph. Jerry snaps to just in time to avoid
a head-on collision with a car coming the other way.
CYNIC
Are you crazy?!
JERRY
The guy came right at us!
CYNIC
You turned up a one way street!
Jerry watches, in a sweat, as he passes a "ONE WAY" sign
pointing the opposite way. He mutters to himself.
JERRY
I was only going one way.
CYNIC
Drop me off here!
JERRY
Look, I'm sorry --
CYNIC
Just drop me off.
ANOTHER ANGLE
Jerry pulls to the curb. The meter at $3.60. The Cynic
slides a twenty through the slot and is out the door.
Jerry watches over his shoulder as the Cynic disappears
down the street. Jerry rubs his eyes, tries to regroup.
JERRY
Love street...
EXT. FIFTH AVENUE (MANHATTAN) - NIGHT
Late. The cab rolls, this time the right way. Ahead, a
well-dressed man steps off the curb, flags Jerry down.
CAB
Jerry slows, stops. As the well-dressed man starts over,
Jerry sizes him up. The man seems suddenly sinister.
As he reaches for the door, LOCKS CLICK DOWN. Jerry GUNS
the CAB away. The confused man stumbles back, shouts,
apparently not a threat at all.
EXT. APARTMENT BUILDING (UPTOWN) - NIGHT
Headlights out, the cab pulls up to the curb.
INT. CAB - NIGHT
Jerry glances at a lit 2nd floor apartment window, then
settles in with a bologna sandwich. About to take a
bite, he pauses, removes a slice of bologna. He regards
it a beat, then carefully peels off the edge. Jerry
holds the narrow casing up against the glow of a
streetlight, like it was encoded. Then something catches
his eye. He trades the sandwich for binoculars, focuses
on the window.
BINOCULAR POV - WINDOW
LIZA SUTTON. In a Yale sweatshirt, stretching, earphones
on. She forces her head past her kneecap and holds it
there. Driven is the word to describe Liza. When she
sleeps, she tries to do it better than anyone else does.
We can't hear her, but as she finishes stretching, she
sings along with the music on her headset.
JERRY
captivated, he sighs -- the sound of love. Then he gets
an idea. Still watching, he fumbles for the RADIO.
Turning it ON, he SCANS radio STATIONS.
BINOCULAR POV - LIZA
Her lips don't match anything. COUNTING CROWS. DAVID
BOWIE. The TRAFFIC REPORT. A RAP TUNE.
JERRY
Never takes his eyes off her, SCANS STATIONS for the
elusive number. He finds ANNIE LENNOX singing "Blue
Moon."
BINOCULAR POV - LIZA
Lips in synch. That's what she's singing along with.
JERRY (V.O.)
(joins in)
'Blue moon, you saw me standing
alone...'
INTERCUT between them. "Without a song in my heart,
without a love of my own. Blue moon..." In a weird way,
it's a duet. A sweet moment. Then, Liza stops.
She gets on a treadmill and cranks it up. Walking a few
moments before she's jogging, before she's running. No
easy pace here. Liza gets grim, cranks up the speed and
goes hard. She's punishing herself.
JERRY
His voice trails off as he watches. Sad, he lowers the
binoculars, doesn't want to watch her do this. Throwing
the CAR in GEAR, he takes a last look and drives away.
EXT. NEW YORK NEWS - NIGHT
A classic corner newsstand except that a river runs down
the street and over the curb. Newspaper stacks usually
on the sidewalk are up on milk crates. The owner, FLIP
TANNER, cruises the sidewalk in a battered wheelchair.
All sinew and tendons, Flip is black, about 50. He looks
to Jerry's cab plowing twin fountains as it approaches.
Flip heaves a stack of newspapers and magazines into his
lap. he rolls to meet Jerry at the curb, hands him the
stack through the window. Jerry looks down at the water.
FLIP
Water main. Broke all the way
over on 40th Street and Seventh.
Subway's a damn river.
Jerry stares back over his shoulder at water gushing out
a manhole cover. Flip watches him, smiles.
FLIP
What're you thinking, Jerry?
JERRY
Water mains usually go in the
winter. It's August 1st.
FLIP
Tell you what. Reminds me of life
in the Delta.
JERRY
Mississippi?
FLIP
Mekong, my friend, Mekong.
JERRY
You know, Flip, Vietnam War was
fought because of a bet Howard
Hughes lost to Aristotle Onasis.
FLIP
Sure. And the two of 'em used my
legs for a wishbone. Nearly
snapped me in half.
JERRY
I gotta go, Flip. Thanks.
As Jerry drives away, Flip smiles, shakes his head.
EXT. VILLAGE BROWNSTONE - ROOFTOP - NIGHT
Carrying his magazines and newspapers, Jerry climbs onto
the roof from the fire escape. He deadpans a look back
and forth. All seems clear. Jerry starts across. COOS
as Jerry passes a PIGEON coop. He steps back, opens the
door.
JERRY
It's your choice, fellas.
As Jerry continues...
SPACE BETWEEN TWO ROOFTOPS
As Jerry leaps, PASSES directly OVER us.
INT. VILLAGE BROWNSTONE - HALLWAY - NIGHT
Jerry enters by a window at the fire escape. Apartment
202. He checks the seam between the door and casing.
The tip of a toothpick is just visible. Assured, he
unlocks the door. As the toothpick drops, Jerry steps
inside.
INT. APARTMENT 202 - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Stacked with filled-to-bursting file cabinets. On the
walls, a silvery particle board. Jerry locks the door,
balances an empty beer bottle upside down on the door
knob.
Satisfied, Jerry enters the file labyrinth. As he moves
we FLASH ON some of the labels, some with not bad cartoon
drawings. "George Bush," "Delta 30," "Blue Flood,"
"Sirhan2."
Jerry turns the corner. "Nazis & Nutrasweet," "Patti
Hearst," and among many more: "MK Ultra" which features
the silhouette of a man holding a handgun & "Council On
Foreign Affair" with the C-F-A in heavily Gothic
lettering.
KITCHEN - REFRIGERATOR
Locked. Padlocked chains run through steel rings bolted
to the sides. Jerry spins the combo-lock. Before
opening, he pauses to consider a set of magnetic poetry
words on the fridge door. He arranges them, reads:
JERRY
The essential goddess death could
chain bitter men,
(moves words)
and crush the ugly moment... like
life pounding eggs.
Jerry opens the fridge to reveal ten padlocked stainless
steel containers. He removes one labeled: "Tapioca."
INT. APARTMENT 202 - JERRY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Carrying a bowl of tapioca, Jerry enters. More files, a
manual typewriter. On the wall, an American flag
alongside a poster of John Lennon reading: "Assassinated
12/8/80."
He strides to his desk and a...
PUBLISHING MONTAGE BEGINS
Jerry scans a New York Times spread on a drafting table.
He circles headlines, names and dates. Does the same
with the San Francisco Chronicle, Le Monde, Time, the
Economist and Popular Mechanics. He enters raw data on
3x5 cards: space shuttle launched, base closings, escape
from mental hospital and especially the obituaries.
Specifically: "Industrialist Ernest Hariman Drowns."
Jerry flips through 100s of cards on big Rolodexes as he
cross-references data. Jerry pulls cards, lines them up.
The first connection: the dates of six Space Shuttle
launches and six earthquakes all coinciding. Jerry lets
out a low whistle. Never too jaded to be shocked.
Jerry types the text of an article, crosses out mistakes.
He handcranks copies off an old drum mimeograph. The
hand drawn logo: lips whispering into an ear. The
title: "Conspiracy Theory."
Jerry writes out five labels. Addresses from across
America. Jerry slaps the labels on the newsletters.
EXT. STREET
The sun comes up.
Jerry drops the newsletters into a mailbox. He starts
across the street, then stops, looks back with dread. He
steps back over, checks the slot. Everything went down.
Jerry starts away, then stops again. As he looks back...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - NYC OFFICES - DAY
Jerry passes through the metal detectors. He stops to
stare at the blindfolded Status of Justice. As a FEDERAL
COP steps over to join him.
JERRY
Smart girl.
FEDERAL COP
How's that, sir?
JERRY
She's got a blindfold on.
FEDERAL COP
Do you have an appointment here,
sir?
Jerry continues to stare.
JERRY
Depends on your definition...
INT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - OUTSIDE CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
The morning meeting yet to begin. Lawyers wait as,
THROUGH the glass, treadmill girl Liza Sutton argues with
brusque department head WILSON. It's a screaming match,
though on this side of the glass their VOICES are MUFFLED
THUMPS. Liza waves her arms. Wilson shakes his head
emphatically.
As they continue to argue, a YOUNG LAWYER arrives being
shown the ropes by an OLDER LAWYER.
OLDER LAWYER
This is the conference room. We
start 9 AM sharp. Usually.
The argument in the conference room has gotten so
vociferous, that people have stopped pretending not to
watch.
YOUNG LAWYER
Wow. How long till I can talk
like that to Mr. Wilson?
OLDER LAWYER
About a thousand years. That's
Liza Sutton. You heard of the
federal judge? Tom Sutton?
Assassinated a few years ago?
YOUNG LAWYER
By that cult leader who's in
prison, right? Ezekiel Walters.
The one who blew up the Citibank
Building.
OLDER LAWYER
None of it ever proven. But
Sutton did deny Ezekiel a writ of
habeas corpus. Anyhow, Liza is
Sutton's daughter.
A commotion down the hall. Jerry. The cop from
downstairs and a second one try everything short of
violence to usher him out.
JERRY
I'm an American and I demand to
see Liza Sutton!
CONFERENCE ROOM
Wilson and Liza are nose-to-nose. THROUGH the glass, the
head of every lawyer turns from them to Jerry. Like
deftly executed synchronized swimming, Liza and Wilson
can't help but notice. Jerry. Liza shakes her head in
despair.
WILSON
Ah, your psychotic is here.
LIZA
Not today...
Liza crouches down on the floor behind the chair.
LIZA
Tell him I'm on vacation. That I
won't be back for two weeks.
WILSON
I don't know if you're the best
lawyer I've got or a high school
sophomore.
Wilson shakes his head, exits.
OUTSIDE CONFERENCE ROOM
As Jerry struggles with the guards who are definitely
getting more physical.
WILSON
Get him out of here.
CONFERENCE ROOM
Liza peeks out. They're hurting Jerry now. As Liza
sighs.
OUTSIDE CONFERENCE ROOM
They drag Jerry back. Liza appears.
LIZA
It's okay! Let him go!
The guards hesitate. Wilson nods. As they let Jerry
go...
LIZA
Jerry, you are a restraining order
waiting to happen.
INT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - LIZA'S OFFICE - DAY
In its own way as cluttered and overflowing with files as
Jerry's apartment is. At her desk, Liza watches Jerry
pace. The door is intentionally open. Liza's secretary
JILL keeps a protective eye from the outer office.
LIZA
I don't see the connection.
JERRY
Come on! Six major earthquakes in
the last three years? The space
shuttle in orbit for every one of
them?
LIZA
(incredulous)
Testing some top secret seismic
weapon.
JERRY
Not testing. Using. Nukes are
passe. This is the weapon of the
future.
As Liza exchanges a look with Jill, Jerry pauses to look
at a framed photo on a credenza.
Liza, 20, in full riding gear, gracefully jumping a horse
over a set of rails.
LIZA
I still don't see what it has to
do with the President.
JERRY
(re: photo)
Do you still ride?
LIZA
Not for years.
JERRY
So why do you keep the picture up?
You wish you hadn't quit?
LIZA
Well, I -- Jerry, the point. Get
there. What does it have to do
with the President?
It takes him a moment to switch gears. Setting down the
picture, he pulls out a map, unfolds it on Liza's desk.
A seismic survey map. He points as he talks.
JERRY
The President's in Europe.
Tomorrow he'll be in Turkey.
Right along this fault line. They
launched the space shuttle
yesterday.
LIZA
Motive?
JERRY
He's cutting funding for NASA.
The milk cow of the aerospace
industry. We're talking billions.
Motive enough?
LIZA
NASA is going to kill the
President of the United States
with an earthquake.
JERRY
(nods)
Not exactly the kind of thing a
Secret Service Agent can throw
himself on top of.
Liza sighs. On another day, Jerry might have been
welcome comic relief. Not today. As she folds his
map...
JERRY
You going to warn him?
LIZA
I can't promise you anything.
JERRY
You think I'm crazy.
LIZA
I think you're different.
JERRY
You know, to be 'normal' and live
in the 'real world,' to swallow
Coca cola and eat Kentucky Fried
Chicken, you have to be in a
conspiracy against yourself. I
can't lie to me, Liza. And the
more I strip through the sham, the
crazier I look to people like you.
Can't you see that's what they're
counting on?
(a beat)
You want to go out sometime?
LIZA
No.
Jerry smiles, looks away, embarrassed in an appealingly
boyish way. If he wasn't crazy, the answer might be yes.
JERRY
I better get going.
LIZA
You don't have to burst in here
every time, Jerry. Just call and
make an appointment.
He nods, gathers his map. Halfway out, he looks back.
JERRY
What was your horse's name?
LIZA
Johnny Dancer.
(a beat)
You've been in my office ten
times. How come you never asked
me about that picture before?
JERRY
Was waiting till I knew you
better. Johnny Dancer, huh?
Sounds like a racehorse.
Jerry heads out. Liza watches after him a beat as he
goes.
EXT. 40TH STREET AND 7TH AVENUE - DAY
Cordoned off with cops redirecting traffic. A lake. Big
diesel pumps gush water into the gutters, and the
sidewalks are sandbagged. All the same, water flows over
Jerry's sneakers as he flags down a passing PUBLIC WORKS
GUY.
JERRY
Hey, don't water mains usually go
in the winter?
D.P.W. GUY
Summer, winter, all I know it it's
beaucoup overtime.
Something catches Jerry's eye -- a tan sedan parked
inside the cordon. Official U.S. Government plates. As
Jerry frowns, two suits, CLARKE and PIPER, exit the
subway kiosk, head to the sedan. Jerry watches, then
heads for his cab.
CUT TO:
EXT. FEDERAL BUILDING (MANHATTAN) - DAY
The sedan pulls up, double parks. As Piper and Clark
head inside, Jerry pulls up across the street.
INT. FEDERAL BUILDING - LOBBY - DAY
Jerry enters, watches Clark and Piper get on the elevator
for the 14th to 25th floors. As the door closes, Jerry
steps to a podium with a directory of the building's
occupants. He drops a finger onto a listing. Floors 18
to 22 are occupied by: the Central Intelligence Agency.
JERRY
Spooks. I knew it.
LOBBY SURVEILLANCE CAMERA POV - JERRY
Grainy black and white as Jerry exits. Is he being
watched?
EXT. DINER - DAY
Jerry's cab is reflected against the glass. THROUGH the
window, we see Jerry at the counter. Standing, he throws
a few bills down and exits.
Jerry reappears in reflection, stops short as Piper is
reflected on one side, Clark on the other. They grab
Jerry. As he struggles Clark jams an air syringe against
his neck. Jerry's reflection goes slack.
As they drag him into his cab, a single OLD MAN at the
counter looks over, then back to his meatloaf as the
yellow of the cab streaks away.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM (GERONIMO) - JERRY - DAY
Strapped to a chair in the middle of what looks like an
old hospital room. Jerry's groggy, starting to regain
consciousness. As he comes round, we hear FOOTSTEPS
APPROACHING from the hall.
CLOSE ON JERRY
Two men enter. They may or may not be Piper and Clark,
but we only see their torsos as they move back and forth.
We hear a CLOSET OPEN, EQUIPMENT being DRAGGED. Jerry
knows he's righteously fucked. But he also knows...
JERRY
I was right. Wasn't I? I was
right.
(a beat)
What was I right about?
They don't seem to pay him any mind.
JERRY
Are you guys from NASA?
Without warning, one of the figures grabs Jerry's head
from behind, straps it to a slat he attaches to the back
of the chair.
Jerry struggles, but his head is immobilized. The second
man goes about taping Jerry's eyes open.
JERRY
I was wrong! I was wrong!
Finished, they leave. Jerry struggles, then finally
waits. A new set of FOOTSTEPS in the hall. Jerry's eyes
follow someone into the room and across from him. Jerry
frowns.
JERRY
Do I know you?
JONAS (O.S.)
Yes you do, Jerry. Quite well.
WIDEN to include --
JONAS
Standing opposite Jerry. Genteel looking, professorial.
There's something calm, oddly soothing about him.
JONAS
Have you ever been in a place from
which hope has gone? All that's
left is patience. Everywhere.
Like a fog.
A beat as Jonas considers Jerry.
JONAS
I'm a very patient man.
JERRY
That's great. Good for you.
JONAS
Who have you been talking to,
Jerry? Who else knows what you
know?
JERRY
Could you be a little more
specific?
Jonas doesn't answer. Instead, he methodically loads a
syringe. Jerry watches with grave apprehension.
JERRY
What's that?
JONAS
Lysergic acid diethylamide... With
a little kicker of my own. Surely
it must be coming back to you by
now?
There's nowhere to go, but Jerry still tries to go there
as the needle descends. And then the plunge.
JERRY
What do I know?...
Jonas switches on a row of strobe lights. They flash
into Jerry's face. In between them, on a screen, images.
JERRY'S POV
A man on fire. Kennedy with the waiter on the floor in
the Ambassador. That guy in Vietnam being shot in the
side of the head. Rhesus monkeys subjected to direct
brain stimulation. Reagan catching it under the armpit.
A slaughterhouse. And interspersed between it all, a
rather official-looking photo of a middle-aged man we'll
call Mr. S. Then --
JONAS
is dancing back and forth before Jerry. The strobes
freeze him like some club from the '70s.
ROOM
But Jonas isn't really dancing. He's directly across
from Jerry -- profile-to-profile.
JONAS
Who else knows what you know?
Slack-jawed, Jerry doesn't answer. Jonas holds an
electrode to Jerry's leg, touches a second to his side.
Jerry arches back as current flows.
JERRY'S POV
as the ceiling melts and drops in heavy globs around
them.
ROOM
Jonas cuts the flow.
JONAS
Who else knows what you know?
Jerry's only answers are the tears running down his
cheeks. Jonas hits him again.
Jerry jerks back so hard the chair snaps right off the
floor and topples over backwards. Jerry's left wrist and
right leg burst through the straps which were holding
them down. A wisp of smoke rises.
Jonas sighs. He looks down at Jerry who moans,
whispers...
JERRY
I'll tell you...
Jonas smiles paternally, steps over. Jerry's mouth
moves, but we can't hear him. Mr. S flashes on the
screen.
JONAS
(crouching)
From your lips, to God's ear.
JERRY'S POV
As Jonas leans in, his nose looks enormous.
ROOM
Grabbing Jonas' shirt with his limited left hand, Jerry
uses the only weapon he's got. He bites Jonas on the
nose. Blood pulses as Jerry's teeth find an artery.
Howling, Jonas tries to scramble out of reach.
Jerry kicks him in the stomach with his free leg and then
keeps kicking. It's inarticulate, roughshod work, but he
connects and Jonas feels it and each new kick as a
little more fury than the last.
Finally Jonas rolls away. Jerry half-crawls, half-rocks
his way to a crouched position. Rising, he staggers into
the window, the top of the chair smashing through the
glass. Jerry stares down to the ground below.
JERRY'S POV
As the earth rises and falls like a wave. The distance
down is impossible to gauge.
ROOM
As Jonas staggers to his feet, Piper and Clark charge in.
They move forward, but without warning, Jerry gathers
what balance he has and heaves himself out the window.
EXT. SIDE OF BUILDING - DAY
Partially obscured by trees, Jerry does a half-gainer
from exactly two stories above the ground. The chair
back takes the brunt of the landing. Wood splinters.
ROOM
Blood spurts between Jonas' fingers. Clark and Piper
draw their guns and rush to the window...
GROUND
Slats of wood hang at his elbows and knees as Jerry reels
across the lawn.
ROOM
Clark and Piper FIRE.
JONAS
Don't kill him! Get him!
As Clark and Piper rush off...
EXT. STREET - DAY
Jerry slogs, sinks into asphalt up to his knees. A truck
sets a dumpster down on the street ahead. As it pulls
away, Jerry dashes, grabs hold of a handle on the rear.
EXT. STREET TWO - SOME BLOCKS AWAY - DAY
We see the truck approach. As it turns right, the
centrifugal force flings Jerry off the back and into the
oncoming lane. Several taxis slam on their brakes to
keep from running him over.
All Jerry sees is yellow.
JERRY
I'm one of you! I'm one of you!
As one driver leans out one window, shouts at him in
Hindu.
CUT TO:
INT. JUSTICE - ELEVATOR - DAY (END OF DAY)
Liza's in the back next to, but not with, one of the
Lawyers seen earlier. He seems nice enough.
LAWYER
So, you doing anything tonight?
LIZA
(hefts briefcase)
Working.
LAWYER
Hmm, how about tomorrow night?
LIZA
Working.
LAWYER
Night after that?
LIZA
(smiles)
Look, you're a nice guy, but I'm
not really dating right now.
LAWYER
I'm not that good at 'no,' Liza.
LIZA
Too bad. Because I'm terrible at
'yes.'
INT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - LOBBY - DAY
As the elevator doors open, Liza steps into her worst
nightmare.
JERRY (O.S.)
Liza Sutton! I need to see Liza!
Jerry is being blocked by three FEDERAL COPS.
COP# 1
You don't leave now, you're under
arrest.
As Jerry spots her....
JERRY
Liza! This is it. They just
tried to kill me! I don't know
what I know, but it's big!
They tangle him up, a few feet from his destination.
Liza can see that something, real or imagined, has
happened.
In the struggle, Jerry wrenches free, taking one of the
Cops' .45s with him. He waves them off with it.
JERRY
Get back!
Everyone freezes. Stand-off city.
LIZA
Easy, Jerry. Easy.
(realizes)
There's blood on your shirt.
Indeed, blood is splattered across his chest.
JERRY
I bit the bastard's nose off.
LIZA
You bit someone's nose off?
JERRY
Yes! Don't let's get into this
thing where I have to repeat
myself!
As one of the Cops moves to flank, Jerry aims the gun.
JERRY
(to Cops)
It's a man without a nose you
want, you dumb complicit sons of
bitches!
(to Liza)
You've got to listen to me.
LIZA
Put down the gun and I'll take
your statement. Okay?
JERRY
You're the boss. Just don't make
me repeat myself. I hate that.
Liza sees blood dripping onto Jerry's shoe. She looks to
where he clutches his side, blood oozing out. To his
face.
LIZA
Jerry, you're bleeding.
Jerry takes his hand from his side, looks at the blood.
JERRY
I didn't even feel it till a few
minutes ago.
As Jerry's distracted, one of the Cops moves in. He
forces Jerry's gun hand up while the other two Cops take
him down. Jerry struggles till one jams a thumb into a
pressure point in his neck. Jerry winces, collapses.
JERRY
Who are they? I don't even know
who they are. But it's on the tip
of my tongue.
And Jerry starts to sob. As Cop one cuffs him.
LIZA
One of you call an ambulance.
A hesitation before one of them moves to do so. Liza
pushes her way through the other two.
LIZA
Ease off of him.
They back off a step, keep him covered. Jerry continues
to sob, desolate. And Liza, despite herself, puts an arm
around him, does what she can to comfort. Her life's
never going to be the same.
INT. ROOSEVELT HOSPITAL - WAITING AREA - NIGHT
A definite inner city feel. Liza stands out in her
smart, stylish business suit. She sits in a plastic
chair, tries not to scream into her cell phone.
LIZA
I need the files tonight. Have
them sent to my apartment. I
don't give a rat's ass what you're
doing! Hello? Damnit!
Phone's dead. Sitting beside Liza, fidgety in the early
stages of withdrawal, is DOLLY, a 20-year-old prostitute.
DOLLY
Sucks, huh?
Liza doesn't even look over. Dolly holds up a pager.
DOLLY
You should get one of these. Then
use a pay phone. Cell phones can
be traced.
LIZA
I'm not doing anything illegal.
Dolly looks her over.
DOLLY
Yeah. Right.
A bedraggled DOCTOR enters, scans the waiting faces.
DOCTOR
Who's here for Jerry Fletcher?
LIZA
(standing)
I am.
The Doctor steps over.
DOCTOR
He's lucky. Bullet passed clean
through his side, didn't touch
anything vital. He lost some
blood, but he should be fine.
LIZA
When can I talk to him?
DOCTOR
They're moving him to the police
ward. Maybe in twenty minutes.
LIZA
But --
The Doctor's already on his way out. Liza sits back
down.
DOLLY
You're lucky. I had a boyfriend
get shot in the stomach. Now he
takes a dump through a plastic
tube. I guess that's life, huh?
Liza reaches into her day planner, pulls out a crisp $100
bill, holds it out to Dolly.
LIZA
It's yours. Just go sit someplace
else.
Dolly looks at her a beat. Plucking the bill from Liza's
fingertips, Dolly gets up and moves.
INT. HOSPITAL - POLICE WARD - HALLWAY - NIGHT
A cop reads the paper at the end of the hall. He barely
looks up as Liza walks down, steps into...
ROOM 322
Liza enters as a NURSE injects a syringeful of
"something" into Jerry's IV. Jerry's strapped to the
bed.
JERRY
What's that?!
NURSE
Something to help you sleep.
JERRY
I don't want to sleep! I want to
be checked out!
LIZA
You're under arrest.
Jerry looks over at Liza as the Nurse exits.
JERRY
What's the charge?
LIZA
You were there, Jerry. Figure it
out.
He nods. Is quiet a moment.
LIZA
If you could remember who shot you
and where it happened, it might
help.
Jerry's suddenly fighting to keep his eyes open.
JERRY
What a day. Wish I could tell you
so it made sense.
He tries to sit up. She eases him back down.
LIZA
Just relax.
JERRY
Switch the charts.
LIZA
What?
Jerry's as serious as a guy about to pass out can be.
JERRY
Switch 'em. Or I'll be dead by
morning. Don't want to be dead.
LIZA
I'll see you tomorrow.
As Jerry eases back into the mattress.
JERRY
Wouldn't bet on it.
As Liza starts to go...
JERRY
Hey...
(as Liza looks back)
I can't control it. It's just,
something that happened.
LIZA
What is?
JERRY
Love.
They look at each other a moment. Then, as Jerry's eyes
flutter.
JERRY
Switch 'em.
A long sigh and Jerry's out. Liza starts out, then
stops, laughs at herself as she realizes what she needs
to do. Stepping over, she switches the chart at the foot
of Jerry's bed with that of his unconscious roommate.
This guy's handcuffed to the bed frame.
Liza looks at Jerry a beat, sighs, then exits.
CUT TO:
EXT. LIZA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - WINDOW - NIGHT
Back on the treadmill. Liza practically sprints. Her
teeth grit. Driven near collapse. Like she's punishing
herself. As we PULL BACK, leaving her to her demons...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. HOSPITAL - POLICE WARD - HALLWAY - DAY
The next day. Liza, arriving, stops short as an orderly
flanked by a COP, wheels a sheet-covered body out of 322.
LIZA
What happened?
COP
Guy came in with a gunshot wound,
but he died of a heart attack. Go
figure.
Fearing the worst, Liza pulls back the sheet. It's
Jerry's roommate. The guy who got Jerry's chart.
COP
Are you Miss Sutton?
Liza looks up, nods.
COP
They said send you downstairs.
LIZA
Who?
COP
The F.B.I., the C.I.A. You name
the initials and they're down
there.
LIZA
Any special reason?
COP
All I know is, they said to send
you and the body to the basement.
They think the dead guy is Jerry. Liza eyes the door.
LIZA
I'll be right down.
INT. HOSPITAL - ROOM 322 - DAY
Jerry sits in bed, one hand cuffed to the bed rail.
LIZA
People do have heart attacks.
JERRY
Sure. You switched the charts,
didn't you?
Liza doesn't answer. Jerry jubilant. This is big.
JERRY
It's okay. The guy traded bullets
with some old man in a liquor
store. He had it coming.
LIZA
You expect me to believe what,
that someone came in here last
night. Gave that guy... something
that stopped his heart?
JERRY
You switched the charts; you tell
me.
LIZA
I got to get downstairs. The
C.I.A., they want to see your
body.
JERRY
Really?
She nods. Jerry regards the cuff, then her.
JERRY
I won't be here when you get back,
but I'll be in touch. And thanks.
LIZA
For what?
JERRY
You saved my life.
LIZA
Heart attacks happen.
Liza exits. Jerry thinks, smiles. He dips his hand into
his oatmeal, smears it across his chin, onto his chest.
INT. HOSPITAL BASEMENT - DAY
Liza steps off the elevator, is met by AGENT LOWRY.
Darkly handsome, Lowry is all business with a twinkly in
his eye.
LOWRY
Ms. Sutton? Agent Lowry, F.B.I.
They shake hands. Both impressed with each other.
LOWRY
We're waiting for jurisdictional
problems to be cleared up. This
guy Fletcher's something else.
LIZA
Tell me about it.
LOWRY
While we walk.
(they move briskly)
D.C. police want him for assault.
Secret Service for counterfeiting
and we're tracking him on a string
of bank robberies. No one knows
what the C.I.A. wants him for.
LIZA
Wait --
OPERATING THEATER
Lowry enters ahead of her. The body is here. All backs
are to Lowry and Liza. Wilson from Justice looks back
over his shoulder. The other five are CIA. One man
stands a bit apart. Lowry points him out, whispers into
Liza's ear.
LOWRY
Guy's a C.I.A. shrink. Here to
I.D. Fletcher. They knew each
other somehow.
LIZA
You don't understand --
Lowry shushes her. The sheet is pulled away to reveal
Jerry's roommate. His back still to us, the CIA
PSYCHIATRIST is not happy.
PSYCHIATRIST
This isn't him.
WILSON
(turning)
Liza?
The Psychiatrist takes the chart from the foot of the
bed.
LIZA
I was trying to tell, um, Jerry, I
mean Fletcher, he's --
Liza stops short as the Psychiatrist turns around. His
nose is bandaged. His eyes look right through her. It's
Jonas! Jerry's man with no nose.
JONAS (PSYCHIATRIST)
He's what?
INT. HOSPITAL - ROOM 322 - DAY
Covered in oatmeal, Jerry clutches his chest, groans.
Three nurses, two orderlies and an INTERN surround him.
INTERN
He's having a heart attack!
The Intern tugs on the handcuff.
INTERN
Where's that goddamn cop?!
(giving up)
Get a crash cart in here!
JERRY
No! Get me to the crash cart!
INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - DAY
Liza, Jonas, Lowry, Wilson and the CIA agents get into
the elevator. Liza can't take her eyes off Jonas's nose.
He looks over at her. It's unnerving.
LIZA
Can I ask you something?
JONAS
A dog bit it.
LIZA
Excuse me?
JONAS
You were going to ask about my
nose. The poor animal is slated
to be destroyed today.
LIZA
And you feel bad for it?
JONAS
It was my dog. Let me ask you a
question. How long have you been
acquainted with Jerry?
INT. HALLWAY - OUTSIDE ROOM 322 - DAY
A crash. The Intern staggers back out the door and into
the wall. Jerry exits -- wearing a johnny which flaps as
he dashes down the hall. Bouncing along behind him is
the bed's side rail which he's still cuffed to.
INT. 3RD FLOOR HALLWAY - ELEVATORS - DAY
Jerry pounds on the down button. PING! The doors on the
middle elevator open to reveal Liza, Jonas, et. al...
They spot Jerry the same moment he spots them.
Jerry drives the rail into one agent's gut, staggering
him. The second agent trying to exit catches the rail in
the teeth. The elevator doors close.
ELEVATOR
Lowry reaches for the control panel. But he's too late.
As the elevator starts up, Lowry slaps the emergency
stop. Then they pull the doors open. The various agents
climb out, step down to the 3rd floor hallway below.
Jerry is nowhere in sight. But from the hallway to the
right of the elevators, a SHOUT and a CRASH. Everyone
heads that way.
NURSES' STATION
A nurse stands over an upended Med-Cart. She looks up at
Liza and the suits charging around the corner. Points.
PILLS CRUNCH under their feet as they take off in
pursuit.
HALLWAY TWO
Jerry pulls a chair cover, hops up and punches a ceiling
panel loose. Then he continues down the hall.
The gang round the corner, stop short at the chair and
panel. Jonas motions two agents up.
JONAS
The rest of you go room to room!
I want dogs! I want motion
detectors! I want heat sensors!
As Jonas moves off, Lowry mutters to Liza.
LOWRY
Is this guy a psychiatrist or a
field agent?
HALLWAY THREE
A row of beds against the wall. An orderly dumps a load
of laundry down a laundry chute. He leaves. Jerry exits
a bathroom, heads over. Gripping the lip of the chute,
he's just swung a leg inside when the room COP appears
around the corner, gun drawn.
COP
Put your foot down.
JERRY
If you knew what really happened
to Serpico, you'd be doing
everything you could to help me
out.
COP
(closing)
Put your damn foot down.
Obliging, Jerry swings his leg back over. But he sets
his heel on a laundry cart, shoves it hard into the Cop.
It gives Jerry a chance to swing the bed rail into the
Cop whose gun skitters away as he tumbles back.
Jerry tries again to jump down the laundry chute, but the
Cop is there, grapples with him. Jerry finally head-
butts him. As the Cop falls back, releasing Jerry, Jerry
falls down the chute. He jerks to a stop as the bed rail
forms a crossbar over the mouth of the chute.
LAUNDRY CHUTE
Jerry dangles from his wrist. That hurt.
Jamming his back against one side of the chute, his feet
against the other, he inches his way up. As he grips the
edge to get out, a face looms! Liza. Jerry loses his
grip again, drops, jerks to another joint-wrenching stop.
HALLWAY THREE
Liza stands beside the semi-conscious Cop, looks down at
Jerry. He looks up at her. At her mercy.
LIZA
He says a dog bit his nose.
JERRY
Arf... You gotta help me.
LIZA
I can't promise you anything.
Liza turns, hears PEOPLE COMING her way. Deciding, she
takes the key ring from the cop's belt, finds the
handcuff key. She slides it into the cuff on Jerry's
wrist.
They share a long look. Click. Jerry drops. Liza's
left holding the rail. She turns, sees the beds by the
wall.
LAUNDRY ROOM
Jerry lands hard in a hamper.
HALLWAY THREE
Liza tends to the Cop (returning his keys, pockets the
cuffs) as Lowry and Jonas turn the corner.
LOWRY
Which way did he go?
LIZA
I don't know. Didn't see him.
As the Cop starts to sit up groggily.
LOWRY
No way we can shut a place this
size down quick enough.
JONAS
You have a half-naked man chained
to a bed rail. Just cover the
exits.
Lowry nods, heads out. Liza follows.
LIZA
I'll come with.
Jonas looks over at the lone bed rail, then across at the
laundry chute. Finally at Liza's retreating back.
JONAS
You.
Liza stops, looks back. Jonas crooks a finger at her.
JONAS
Keep me company.
INT. HOSPITAL - LAUNDRY ROOM - DAY
Jerry the doctor. In his scrubs, pulls on a paper hair
net.
INT. HOSPITAL EXIT - DAY
Two cops on watch at the exits. Three tired interns on
the way out when Jerry joins them. Just one of the guys.
JERRY
Did you see that spleen? I never
saw a spleen like that ever.
The cops don't give them a second look as they exit.
EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY
Odd looks from the interns, but Jerry's home free.
JERRY
It was unbespleenable!
INT. HOSPITAL CAFETERIA - DAY
Jonas dips a tea bag, stares across at Liza who grinds
out a cigarette in an overflowing ashtray. He watches as
she goes for her pack, realizes that was her last butt.
JONAS
So he thinks NASA is plotting to
kill the President?
LIZA
You already asked me that. Why do
you insist on making me repeat
myself?
JONAS
And you have no idea where he
lives?
LIZA
You've asked me that one three
times.
JONAS
Here's a fresh one. Why you?
Your colleague Mr. Wilson says
Jerry won't speak to anyone else.
That seems oddly possessive
behavior to me.
LIZA
I'm sorry. What was the question
again?
JONAS
Why you?
LIZA
Honestly? I think he has a crush
on me.
JONAS
A charming term. Now, why him?
LIZA
Excuse me?
JONAS
Jerry's visits to your office.
Why do you tolerate them? Why
him?
LIZA
A year ago I was leaving work late
one night. Two guys tried to mug
me. It was horrible. Jerry came
out of nowhere. To my rescue.
Then he started coming to see me.
(smiles)
Could've been a storybook if he
wasn't crazy. At first I did my
beat to avoid him. But there's
something inside Jerry and...
(shrugs)
Jerry made me see it. He made me
see him. That make sense?
Jonas nods. As he tends to his tea, Liza notices he
wears a Harvard alumni ring.
LIZA
You went to Harvard?
Jonas nods. Liza gestures toward the ring.
LIZA
May I?
Jonas offers his hand so she can get a closer look:
three open books with the letters VE-RI-TAS.
LIZA
Veritas. Truth. What is it they
say about truth?
JONAS
The truth shall make you free.
LIZA
That's it.
(releases his hand)
I went to Yale. I hope you won't
hold that against me.
JONAS
Only on the football field.
That's as charming as Jonas gets. The sparring
continues.
LIZA
I didn't know the C.I.A. had
psychiatrists.
JONAS
We're very specialized.
LIZA
Brain washing, mind control, that
sort of thing?
JONAS
Re-educating trained killers in
the ways of polite society.
Making sure the men who've gone
over the edge won't hurt anyone.
That sort of thing.
Jonas takes a sip of tea, watches her over the rim.
INT. HOSPITAL - ROOM 322 - DAY
A cop at the door. Liza flashes her ID, enters. She
heads to the nightstand, opens it. There's a key ring, a
pack of gum and a worn paperback copy of Catcher In the
Rye with the familiar crimson and gold cover. Liza flips
through it. Certain passages are highlighted, others
blacked out.
LOWRY (O.S.)
Catcher In the Rye?
Liza looks up as Agent Lowry enters.
LOWRY
That's the book Hinkley had on him
when he shot Reagan.
LIZA
I was just thinking that.
COP
(leaning in)
You remember that Arab guy who
shot the Rabbi a few years back?
(as they look
over)
I was one of the arresting
officers. He had a copy of the
goddamn thing too.
(smiles)
You know that expression, it must
be the water. Well, maybe it's
the book.
As the Cop laughs it up, Lowry and Liza exchange a look.
LOWRY
Thanks for your input, officer.
The Cop shrugs, exits. Lowry picks up the keys and gum.
LOWRY
Gum, keys and a book.
(checks keys)
Car... Maybe apartment... This is
an odd one.
Of the three keys, one is long and narrow.
LIZA
Safety deposit box.
As Lowry nods, three of Jonas' CIA suits enter. As one
confiscates the gum and book, another holds his hand out
for the keys. Lowry gives them over. As they exit...
LOWRY
You're welcome!
(shrugs to Liza)
Spooks. So, you want to compare
notes on this guy.
LIZA
No. Not yet.
Something catches Liza's eye. She steps to the
nightstand.
A word is scratched into the side by the bed. Geronimo.
Lowry picks a fork off the floor. Just the right size.
LOWRY
Geronimo? What's that?
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL - EARLY EVENING
Liza exits, starts for the street. A long day. She
fishes a small tape recorder from her briefcase, switches
it on.
LIZA
Jerry Fletcher. Apparently, a
major desperado. Subject of a
multi-jurisdictional task force
manhunt... I don't buy it. He
might be nuts, but there's
something... good about him.
Liza suddenly reacts in shock to something ahead.
LIZA
No!
Liza dashes forward. We see her car at the curb -- a BMW
sedan. A traffic control officer has just finished
shoving a ticket under the wiper. Liza arrives shouting,
as they roll away. Liza grabs the ticket, pissed,
frustrated. But after a moment, she gets in the car.
INT. BMW - STREET - EARLY EVENING
She gets in grumbling, STARTS the ENGINE. As six fanned-
out parking tickets rise from the back seat behind her,
she spots them in the rearview. Liza jumps, her grip on
the steering wheel the only thing keeping her from
hitting her head on the roof.
JERRY (O.S.)
They've been coming all day.
Nothing I could do about it.
As she recovers...
LIZA
How'd you know this was my car?
JERRY
He lies across the back seat, staring up.
JERRY
Lucky guess... Um, I'd feel a lot
less naked if we could get outta
here.
LIZA (O.S.)
Don't tell me you're naked back
there.
JERRY
Figure of speech. Could we go?
BMW
Liza takes the tickets. Deciding, she hits the gas,
starts through the intersection.
JERRY
What took so long? You were in
there all day.
LIZA
That's how long it takes to turn a
hospital inside out. A lot of
people are after you, Jerry.
JERRY
Dead or alive, they'll stick me in
there with Oswald. Another
lunatic acting alone,
LIZA
Oswald was an assassin. You're
not an assassin, are you, Jerry?
JERRY
If you're worried about the
President, call and warn him about
the Space Shuttle.
LIZA
Right. Sit up so I can see you.
JERRY
Uh uh, don't want them to see me.
LIZA
Them who?
JERRY
Change lanes. Then watch your
rearview.
Liza does so. Looking in the mirror, a set of
headlights, maybe three cars back, move as well. Liza
frowns, turns left, eyes on the mirror. A beat and the
car follows her.
JERRY
Flat, wraparound headlights?
LIZA
Yeah.
JERRY
Crown Victoria. F.B.I. car. A
legitimate tail.
LIZA
As opposed to?
JERRY
People more serious about their
work.
You know how to drive this thing
or do you just like looking good
in it?
LIZA
You mean I should speed up and try
and lose them?
JERRY
Yes.
LIZA
That's how a man would do it. I'm
not a man.
JERRY
I noticed.
Liza stops in the middle of the street. Jerry stays low.
JERRY
What are you doing?
STREET
The Crown Victoria has slowed considerably. Liza sticks
her arm out of the window of the BMW, motions it forward.
CROWN VICTORIA
Lowry at the wheel. Knows he's been made. No use trying
to get out of it now. Shaking his head, he rolls
forward.
STREET
Lowry pulls up alongside Liza. Can't see Jerry in back.
LIZA
Agent Lowry.
LOWRY
(shrugs; sheepish)
Wasn't my idea.
LIZA
Jonas?
LOWRY
It's his show for now. Look, you
want to get some dinner? Inter-
Agency cooperation and all?
JERRY
in the back. He doesn't like the sound of that.
INT./EXT. BMW/CROWN VICTORIA
Liza smiles, but isn't biting.
LIZA
When I'm ready to compare notes,
I'll let you know.
LOWRY
Your call. Have a good night.
Lowry puts it in gear and takes off. Relieved, Jerry
sits up, watches the taillights fade away.
LIZA
See? Wasn't that a lot easier
than squealing tires and knocking
over trash cans?
JERRY
Nothing is easy.
LIZA
How long have we known each other,
Jerry?
JERRY
Six months. Eleven days.
LIZA
Till today, I haven't believed a
word. Now, I'm curious. Six
months, eleven days. I'm going to
give you one more hour to impress
me. Where to?
EXT. NEW YORK NEWS - NIGHT
Flip watches from his wheelchair as the BMW pulls up. It
takes him a minute to recognize...
FLIP
Jerry? You didn't show last
night. First time ever. Had me
worried, boy.
JERRY
Sorry, Flip.
(re: Liza)
Got sidetracked.
Flip glances at Liza, thinks he understands. As he winks
at Jerry, Liza rolls her eyes to the heavens. Flip
retrieves a double stack of newspapers and magazines.
FLIP
Saved you last night's, too.
JERRY
Flip was a hero in Vietnam.
FLIP
Sure was. Pounded the V.C. for
this Greek cat named Ari Onasis.
Flip smiles as he wheels back over. He likes Jerry.
INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT
Jerry and Liza by the window. Jerry hands her the front
page of The New York Times. As Jerry scarfs bread...
JERRY
Just look at it. Ten seconds and
you'll be scared out of your mind.
As Liza scans the paper, a waiter sets a small salad in
front of her and a big bowl of spaghetti and sausage in
front of Jerry. He digs in like a five-year-old.
JERRY
(re: salad)
You worked all day for that?
Lettuce, tomatoes, no dressing.
That's what, you're punishing
yourself, right?
She looks up. An odd beat. Is Jerry on to something?
LIZA
You have the right to ask me
certain personal questions?
JERRY
(slurps noodles)
Yeah. I think so.
Liza hands him back the paper.
LIZA
Nothing scary there. Sorry.
JERRY
Oh, well, maybe to the untrained
eye.
(scans it)
Hmm... Ahh...
(raises eyebrows)
Ooooo...
Liza waits as Jerry spreads out the paper.
JERRY
More about life on Mars. From a
rock they found on the South Pole.
Explain that one to me. But maybe
we should go to Mars and find out?
How much do you think that's going
to cost?
LIZA
What is it with you and the space
program?
JERRY
And look here. Cease fire in
Chechenia. That's good for the
banks who lent the government
money, but bad for the guys
selling them weapons.
(scanning article)
Listen to this, some gas company
in Colorado. Their researchers
have been blocked from testing a
fuel additive. They've accused
the E.P.A. of, quote, 'turning a
blind eye to the future.'
Jerry grabs a dollar bill from the tip of the adjacent
table. He turns it over, points out the "eye" above the
pyramid.
JERRY
Well that's the eye right there.
Money. And all the power and
misery it brings with it.
It's a plot to take over the
world. The Master Conspiracy.
Can take a lifetime to pull off.
LIZA
Do they have a secret handshake?
Jerry takes her hand. He shakes it, employing various
complex machinations. Finished, he regards her intently.
LIZA
That's it?
JERRY
I have no idea.
She laughs. He got her that time. But after a beat...
LIZA
So why are they after you?
JERRY
I'm not sure. I think I figured
something out.
(lowers voice)
It must've been in my newsletter.
LIZA
What newsletter?
Jerry crosses his lips with his finger, shushes her. He
motions her forward so he can whisper. She leans in.
At that moment -- a GUNSHOT!
In one motion, Jerry stands, throws his chair through the
plate glass window. As GLASS RAINS down, he's already
got one foot out on the sidewalk. He reaches back for
Liza.
JERRY
Come on!
Then Jerry sees the waiter, standing nearby, a bottle of
wine in one hand, a popped cork in the other -- the
source of the sound. Jerry looks back to Liza.
JERRY
So I'm a little jumpy. Who
wouldn't be?
LIZA
You're certifiable.
JERRY
You wouldn't be sitting here if
you didn't halfway believe me.
LIZA
Believe you about what?
Jerry shrugs. As the manager storms over, Liza peels off
a hundred dollar bill.
LIZA
(re: window)
Will that cover it?
He shakes his head. As she peels off a few more...
JERRY
You know that hour you gave me to
impress you? How much of it is
left?
INT. JERRY'S VILLAGE BROWNSTONE - HALLWAY - NIGHT
Liza enters by a window at the fire escape. Jerry
follows. His side is obviously bothering him.
LIZA
You okay?
JERRY
Flesh wound. No big deal.
Jerry heads for the door to his apartment.
LIZA
I still don't think we had to park
a mile away.
INT. APARTMENT 202 - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Jerry and Liza enter. Closing the door behind them, he
switches on the light. Liza looks from the filing
cabinets to the silvery particle board covering the
walls.
LIZA
Is this supposed to protect you
from aliens?
Jerry doesn't answer as he locks the door, picks the
empty beer bottle up off the floor.
JERRY
You know why the Grateful Dead are
always on tour?
LIZA
Surprise me.
JERRY
The whole kit and caboodle of 'em
are British Intelligence agents.
Spies. Jerry Garcia had a double-
o rating. Just like James Bond.
Jerry sits the beer bottle on the doorknob, turns, heads
off. Liza looks at the bottle, then, "a la Bond"...
LIZA
Garcia, Jerry Garcia.
As he moves to follow...
FILE LABYRINTH
They snake their way through the towering files.
JERRY
You want something to drink?
LIZA
Um, coffee. If that's okay?
Jerry looks back over his shoulder, smiles.
JERRY
Coffee's our friend.
KITCHEN
Liza watches as Jerry unchains the refrigerator. He
misinterprets the look on her face.
JERRY
I keep the beans in the fridge.
They stay fresher that way.
As Jerry removes one of the stainless steel containers,
Liza reads some of his magnetic poetry off the door.
LIZA
Must language produce a thousand
knives and not recall a whisper?
(then another)
I love the delicate shadow of she
wanting me to be.
Liza smiles at Jerry who looks up sheepishly from the
container. He's having trouble with the lock.
JERRY
Forgot the combination... You want
some grapefruit juice?
INT. JERRY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Jerry enters with Liza. The photo of Lennon gives her
pause. She looks at the surrounding files then watches
as Jerry turns the mimeograph drum, starts printing
something.
JERRY
If my universe had a hub...
LIZA
This would be it?
Jerry nods. Liza steps to the drafting table where Jerry
has done several rough, but competent sketches of horses
in motion. There's a book open to a photo of a horse and
rider jumping a rail. Liza closes it, reads:
LIZA
Equitation.
JERRY
I've been reading up on it.
LIZA
(re: sketches)
Are these yours?
Jerry nods, embarrassed. As he staples some papers
together, Liza stops short. In the margin of one of the
drawings are two small profile sketches of her. Eyes
closed, it looks like she's sleeping.
JERRY
Here it is. Conspiracy Theory
(proudly hands
it over)
It just went out Tuesday. Third
issue this year. I bet I struck a
nerve. Pissed someone off.
LIZA
(scans contents)
'The Space Shuttle's Seismic
Secret'. 'The Oliver Stone-George
Bush Connection'.
(looks up)
Oliver Stone?
JERRY
Stone is their spokesman. You
think if someone really had all
that information and a national
podium to shout it out from that
they'd let him do it? Stone's a
disinformation flunky. The face
that he's alive says it all.
LIZA
Can you prove any of this?
JERRY
Absolutely not. A good conspiracy
is an unprovable conspiracy. If
you can figure it out, they
screwed it up.
Liza flips through, reads the lead-in to one story aloud.
LIZA
'On July 8, 1979, security forces
under control of the Trilateral
Commission abducted the fathers of
all American Nobel Prize winners.
The men, many of them
octogenarians, were forced at
gunpoint to ejaculate into small
plastic bottles. The sperm
collected is now under study in a
laboratory beneath the
headquarters of the Rand
Corporation in Santa Monica,
California.'
JERRY
Pretty scary, huh?
LIZA
Yeah... how many subscribers do
you have?
JERRY
(embarrassed)
Just five. It's the economy...
You think maybe one of them is not
who they seem?
LIZA
You got a list?
Jerry nods, goes about digging one up. Liza steps to a
bookshelf and fifteen different copies of The Catcher in
the Rye.
LIZA
You're a Holden Caulfield fan.
JERRY
Who?
LIZA
Holden Caulfield? Catcher in the
Rye?
JERRY
Never heard of him.
LIZA
You have ten copies of the book,
but you don't know who the main
character is?
JERRY
I've never read it. I just --
Every time I see one I buy it. I
don't know why exactly... Wanna
hear my favorite part?
Strange. As Liza nods, Jerry opens to a particular page.
JERRY
(reads)
'I keep picturing all these little
kids in this big field of rye...
And I'm standing on the edge of
some crazy cliff...'
FRONT DOOR - BEER BOTTLE
Nothing until, almost imperceptibly, the door knob moves.
JERRY (O.S.)
'If they're running and they don't
look where they're going I have to
come out from somewhere and catch
them.'
JERRY'S BEDROOM
JERRY
(finishing)
'That's all I'd do all day. I'd
just be the catcher in the rye.'
FRONT DOOR - BEER BOTTLE
The BOTTLE FALLS as the knob turns.
JERRY'S BEDROOM
A brief look between them before Jerry hits a switch
which kills the lights, then pulls her down alongside
him.
LIZA
It probably fell by itself.
Jerry puts a finger over her lips.
EXT. ADJACENT BUILDING - ROOFTOP - NIGHT
Two black-clad snipers aim at Jerry's window, OPEN FIRE.
INT. JERRY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Liza stifles a cry as tear gas canisters CRASH the
WINDOW.
FRONT DOOR
It's bludgeoned open. Light streams from the hallway.
BUILDING HALLWAY
Ten black-clad assault team members dives for cover as
their leader tosses in a CONCUSSION GRENADE.
JERRY'S LIVING ROOM
Cabinets split at the seams as the air is rent by the
THUDDING IMPLOSION.
JERRY'S BEDROOM
A beacon shines through the shattered window, but they're
clear. Jerry shoulders the desk across the floor. He
pulls a barely visible wire loop, opens a trap door in
the floor.
JERRY
Go.
As Jerry guides Liza down the hatch...
LIVING ROOM
The assault team enters military style.
KITCHEN WINDOWS
Smash as two commandos rappel their way inside.
JERRY'S BEDROOM
Grabbing the subscriber list, Jerry drops down the hatch
pulls the trap door shut behind him.
INT. DOWNSTAIRS APARTMENT - NIGHT
Dark. Jerry lands alongside Liza on a mattress.
JERRY
Always rent a spare apartment!
Standing, Jerry hauls down on a handle attached to
another thin wire. Really putting his weight into it.
JERRY'S BEDROOM
The desk slides back into position over the trap door.
Just an instant before the assault team rolls in.
DOWNSTAIRS APARTMENT
Jerry dashes to a closet. Liza watches as he opens the
closet door, strikes a waiting match. He lights a fuse
which burns up toward a hole in the floor.
LIZA
What are you doing?
JERRY
Getting rid of my hub!
Liza stops short. The white light from the fuse
illuminates the Wonderwall. Liza stares at a 6x12
painted montage. One image dominates. In fact, it's
arresting.
Bliss: Liza in full equestrian fear, hands outstretched,
head thrown back. Astride a winged horse. It soars over
a gate and up into the heavens.
Jerry has eyes only for the fuse. As it disappears
through the hole in the floor, it takes its light with
it. The Wonderwall goes dark.
INT. JERRY'S APARTMENT - FILE CABINETS - NIGHT
Branching off, the fuse runs into them, through them.
Incendiaries ignite.
FILE HALLWAY
Bursting into flames. Everywhere. The assault team
members shout, beat a retreat.
INT. DOWNSTAIRS APARTMENT - NIGHT
Jerry pulls a jacket from the closet, starts to pull it
on. It's too dark to make out exactly what he's doing.
Liza grabs the matches, lights one. It casts a barely
adequate glow on the wall.
LIZA
What is this?
Jerry's wearing a fireman's greatcoat, pulls on a
fireman's helmet. Realizing what she's seen, he's very
embarrassed.
JERRY
Don't know. It was here when I
moved in.
The match burns to Liza's fingertips. Darkness once
again.
INT. JERRY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
No shortage of light up here. As the last man exit, it's
become an incinerator. White hot flame shoots out.
Paint peels. The housing of the typewriter melts. A
locked METAL CYLINDER on the kitchen counter EXPLODES in
a shower of popcorn. Polaroids blister. But more than
anything -- files burn. As the sound of SIRENS builds...
INT. DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT
Smoke, but no fire. Six NYC firefighters escort
squinting residents to the fire escape. A FIREMAN exits
an apartment with a woman slung over his shoulder.
FIREMAN
Make a hole. Watch your backs.
It's Jerry. The woman is Liza. As a path is cleared...
STAIRWELL
Jonas and his men trot up the stairs led by a FIRE
CAPTAIN. Lowry follows, looking like he wished he were
someplace else. Jonas no longer wears the bandage, just
a small strip which partially covers the stitches across
his nose.
They meet Jerry and Liza on the landing, cross right past
them. Oblivious. Jerry and Liza continue down.
LIZA
Was that who I thought it was?
JERRY (FIREMAN)
Uh huh.
LIZA
Has this happened to you before?
JERRY
Never, but I've been practicing.
LIZA
(beat; then...)
Who are you, Jerry?
JERRY
Just a guy trying to put out a
fire.
They continue down OUT OF SIGHT.
EXT. JERRY'S NEIGHBORHOOD - STREET - NIGHT
Jerry dumps the fireman's coat in the trash, jumps in the
BMW as Liza TEARS AWAY from the curb.
INT. JERRY'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
Jonas and his men are walked through the smoldering ruins
by a Fire Captain. He pauses at the silver on the walls.
FIRE CAPTAIN
See the aluminum stuff? Firewall.
Guy designed it so he could turn
the place into an incinerator.
Leaves the rest of the building
untouched.
CIA AGENT
(stepping up)
Dr. Jonas, there's something else
you should see.
INT. DOWNSTAIRS APARTMENT - NIGHT
Illuminated with flashlights. Jonas enters, stares at
the Wonderwall, mainly Liza, a moment before.
JONAS
In one hour I want to know what
she eats, where she sleeps, the
name of her gynecologist.
Everything.
INT. LIZA'S APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
The door opens. Liza enters followed by Jerry. An
awkward beat as Jerry looks suspiciously about.
LIZA
See? Home safe and sound.
They stand there like two teenagers at the end of a date.
Liza holds her copy of Conspiracy Theory.
JERRY
You gave me an hour; now give me a
day.
LIZA
Jerry, there's something I have to
ask you. Actually about a hundred
things, but we can make progress,
if you answer one question. To my
satisfaction.
JERRY
Shoot.
LIZA
It was that painting. The one on
the wall.
JERRY
(embarrassed)
I didn't mean for you to see it.
It's like looking in someone's
diary and taking it out of
context. Know what I mean?
LIZA
It made me feel like you could see
inside of me. And I don't know
how that's possible.
JERRY
So what's the question?
LIZA
How is it possible?
Jerry doesn't answer. He looks around. Trapped. Then
he spots a particular doorway...
JERRY
Could I, um, could I look at
something?
Without warning for her answer, he walks into...
INT. LIZA'S APARTMENT - SITTING ROOM - NIGHT
Big enough for a chair, bookshelves and a treadmill.
Jerry steps onto the treadmill. Tentatively, like it
might swallow him. He looks forward, then looks back.
At...
A framed 8X10 photo on the bookshelf: Liza, maybe 21
years old, in full equestrian gear holding the reins of
her horse -- Johnny Dancer. She stands beside an older
man who surely must be her father. He's also the "Mr. S"
from Jerry's bizarre strobe show.
Liza stands in the door.
LIZA
I'll give you 100 bucks if you
leave right now.
JERRY
(steps to photo)
Is this your dad?
LIZA
That was him.
JERRY
(picks up photo)
Is he dead?
LIZA
Please put it down.
JERRY
How'd he die?
LIZA
He was murdered.
Liza tries to keep her cool; it's not easy. Jerry looks
from the photo to the treadmill. It's all suddenly
clear.
JERRY
He's why you punish yourself.
LIZA
Not this again.
JERRY
You run with your back to the
picture. Like you were trying to
get away. Once in awhile you sing
along with music, but mostly you
punish yourself.
LIZA
(realizes)
You watch me, don't you?
Jerry realizes he's blown it. Liza looks out the window,
down to the street.
LIZA
Where do you stand? In the alley?
Do you sit in a car? Is it every
night? What?
Jerry counters by pointing out the horse in the photo.
JERRY
Johnny Dancer, right? You don't
ride him anymore, do you? Not
since your dad died.
LIZA
Fuck you. I know you're crazy,
but fuck you.
Forlorn, Jerry sets the picture back down. The walls of
books reminds him of something.
JERRY
Do you have a copy of that book I
can borrow? Catcher? I don't
usually go this long without one.
Liza closes her eyes, rubs them.
LIZA
You got your twenty-four hours.
Just give me the next eight off.
Jerry nods, exits in front of her. She stays put. A few
moments pass before we hear her front DOOR OPEN and then
CLOSE as Jerry leaves. Liza's eyes flicker over to the
treadmill. A moment and then...
LIZA
(re: treadmill)
Fuck you, too...
Liza turns, switches off the light.
CUT TO:
EXT. STREET - OUTSIDE LIZA'S BUILDING - NIGHT
A drizzle has started to fall. For a street lined with
parked cars, it has a rather desolate feel. There's a
certain car -- a Crown Victoria. A silhouette behind the
wheel. Liza's apartment is being watched.
CROWN VICTORIA
It's Agent Lowry. And in the back seat AGENT MURPHY.
They sit in silence, a relaxed, practiced state of alert.
Murphy frowns at the RAINDROPS which SPLAT the rear
window.
MURPHY
I'm gonna take a piss in the alley
before it starts to pour.
Lowry nods, keeps his eyes on the entrance to the
apartment. Murphy opens the door. As he climbs out of
the back seat, we see a black 9mm in a shoulder harness.
A few moments pass. Agent Lowry leans forward to look up
to the dark window of Liza's apartment. Behind him, he
hearts the back door open, Agent Murphy slide in the back
seat. As Lowry leans back:
LOWRY
How's your bladder?
The barrel of Murphy's black 9mm is pressed squarely
against the side of Lowry's head.
VOICE (O.S.)
Not bad.
(cocks hammer)
How's yours?
It's Jerry in the back seat! But Lowry's a pretty cool
customer. He regards Jerry evenly in the rearview.
LOWRY
Lot of folks are looking for you.
Lowry's hand inches toward a .45 on the front seat.
JERRY
Then you must be the smart one.
Hands on the steering wheel.
A little nudge of the 9mm and Lowry does as he's told.
JERRY
Thank you.
LOWRY
You're welcome. Where's my
partner?
JERRY
I like that. A gun to your head
and you ask about your partner.
He's okay. May have a headache
for a few days. Are you here with
honorable intentions?
LOWRY
I'm not sure what you mean.
JERRY
You should think of me as Liza
Sutton's guardian angel.
LOWRY
That's ironic. Because we're here
to protect her from you.
JERRY
You're here because you figured I
might show up.
LOWRY
It seemed like a possibility.
What about your intentions? Are
they honorable?
JERRY
I'm not a violent man, Mr. Lowry.
Not by nature, anyhow. But if you
hurt Liza in any way, I'll kill
you. Does that seem honorable?
LOWRY
Well, I don't know if --
Jerry creases the back of his head with the gun barrel.
As Lowry slumps unconscious, Jerry starts out, then
pauses.
JERRY
Are you pretending?
It sure doesn't seem so. Till Jerry cocks back the
hammer.
LOWRY
(all but motionless)
Yes.
Jerry whacks him again. Jerry's about to go when the
front door to Liza's building opens and Liza steps out in
her running gear.
Jerry crouches, but he needn't bother. She's not looking
his way. As she takes off down the street:
JERRY
Shit...
Jerry pulls Lowry over to the passenger's seat, then
climbs into the driver's seat. He starts the car, then
rolls out after her.
LIZA
runs. Looks every inch the athlete as she moves. Her
feet splash through the growing puddles as she's off the
curb and on the street.
CROWN VICTORIA - JERRY
Jerry "talks" to Lowry as he drives, shadowing Liza.
JERRY
She shouldn't be outside at night.
What's she doing?
(looks to Lowry)
I know you can hear me.
LIZA
cuts through a gap in the wall and enters Central Park.
CROWN VICTORIA - JERRY
As he stops short, Lowry slams into the dash. He turns,
rides along looking for a place to turn into the park.
And then she's gone from sight. Jerry abandons Lowry and
the car in the middle of the street and takes off on
foot.
PARK - LIZA
Moving between the trees. Elusive. Tireless.
PARK - JERRY
Gasping. It takes everything he's got to keep her in
sight. He strips off his jacket to lighten the load.
STREET
As Liza exits the park, continues on her way, unaware
that behind her...
Jerry collapses against the wall. Taking each breath
like it was his last, he watches as she disappears from
sight. Finally, as he staggers out of the park...
INT. BARNES AND NOBLE BOOKSTORE (MANHATTAN) - NIGHT
Jerry down the aisles. Getting desperate. Finally, the
classics section. Moby Dick. Pilgrim's Progress. Of
Mice And Men. Bingo! The Catcher In The Rye. One copy
left. Jerry grabs it. Whew...
CASH REGISTER
The clerk waits as Jerry steps up, hands him the book.
JERRY
Been a long day.
The clerk nods, picks up a scanner, runs it over the bar
code on the back of the book.
IMMEDIATE CUT TO:
INT. COMPUTER SURVEILLANCE ROOM (SOMEWHERE) - NIGHT
Three bleary-eyed TECHNICIANS sit up and take notice as
an alarm goes off on one of several computer screens.
TECH #1
Somebody bought one!
The second Technician watches as city grid maps flash
across his computer screen. It narrows to a single
street.
TECH #2
Barnes and Noble. McKinley
Avenue.
Tech #3 grabs a radio mic.
TECH #3
CLEET code 115. Location is 11-
546 McKinley. Barnes and Noble.
Keep collateral damage minimum.
CUT TO:
INT. BARNES AND NOBLE - NIGHT
The clerk hands Jerry his bag, thanks him. Jerry starts
out. Throwing the bag in the trash, he's out the door.
EXT. BARNES AND NOBLE - NIGHT
Jerry walks down the street, reading.
A popular area, there are still quite a few people about.
Suddenly the pages flutter in Jerry's hand. Trash swirls
at his feet. He stops, slowly looks up as he hears the
HELICOPTER.
Black, no running lights, equipped with a sound damper.
It descends quickly over the intersection. Silky black
cords drop. Traffic snarls as CLEET COMMANDOS slide
down.
Four of them. Plainclothed with discreet com-headsets.
Wearing jackets, we catch glimpses of the equipment slung
on their hips, including machine pistols. Each has a 2X3
piece of paper taped to his wrist. Like NFL quarterbacks
with the plays, except the papers are photos of Jerry.
The helicopter is gone so fast some people haven't even
noticed. The commandos disperse into the crowd, refer to
their wrists as they advance in Jerry's direction.
Jerry hightails it the opposite way, tries not to
attract attention. He pulls up in front of a movie
theater as a second chopper swoops in to drop four more
commandos at the south intersection. The street has been
sealed off.
Jerry stands there a beat, not sure what to do.
Something makes him look across the street where CLEET #1
pulls up, looks over at him. As CLEET #1 refers to his
wrist photo, Jerry dashes into the theater.
INT. FLIGHT DECK - THIRD HELICOPTER - NIGHT
In a hurry. The skyline whizzes past as Jonas listens in
on his headphones.
CLEET #1 (V.O.)
I repeat. Target has entered the
theater.
JONAS
Oswald tried the same tactic, if I
recall.
INT. THEATER - NIGHT
Nearly a full house. Jerry sits near the front,
nervously looking back over his shoulder, watching the
aisle.
Four CLEETs appear silhouetted at the entrance. As they
start down, checking faces...
As the manager drones, people head for the aisles. Jerry
moves for the emergency exit. Sticking out like a sore
thumb as the emergency door opens and a shadowy figure
steps inside the alcove. A CLEET commando.
He spots Jerry, starts forward.
CLEET #3
(into com-set)
He's in the third theater.
Jerry starts back through what's been an orderly
proceeding.
JERRY
Bomb! There's a bomb in here!
As the cry of "Bomb!" gets taken up, panic spreads. No
one gets trampled, but the shoving is fierce. As the
CLEETs fight their way down, Jerry heads for the rear
exit. A few other patrons go that way as well.
EXT. ALLEY - BEHIND THEATER
Jerry exits with a solid head-start, but as he turns
there's a CLEET in the alley. Checking faces -- not
looking Jerry's way yet. Jerry keeps close behind
another patron, then darts out, swings the CLEET face
first into the wall.
As the CLEET draws his machine-pistol, Jerry slams his
face once, twice into the wall. As the CLEET drops,
Jerry makes eye contact with a woman who watches aghast.
JERRY
I didn't like his looks. Did you?
As she shakes her head "no," Jerry continues on his way.
EXT. THEATER - NIGHT
A big crowd. As police cars pull up, the CLEET commandos
exchange a look. Removing their headsets, they disperse,
dissolving into the crowd like they were never even here.
INT. LIZA'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT
She's asleep. All seems peaceful. Then, low WHISPERING.
It STOPS, STARTS again. Low, conspiratorial, cabalistic.
Liza tosses, turns in her sleep. A shadow seems to pass
over her. But as she wakes up, the WHISPERING FADES.
Liza sits up, a bit spooked. She cocks her head,
listens. Was that a click in the other room. Unsure,
she gets up, heads for the door.
LIVING ROOM
Filled with long, dark shadows. Liza steps out, puts a
hand on the light switch. Steeling herself, she switches
them on. The room is empty.
SITTING ROOM
Liza sticks her head in. Empty.
BATHROOM
Lights go on. No one here. Liza slowly pulls back the
shower curtain. Nothing. She switches the lights off.
LIVING ROOM
Liza returns from the kitchen, something in her hand.
Stepping to the door, she first checks to make sure it's
locked. Then she balances an empty bottle upside down on
the knob. She looks at it a second, shakes her head.
LIZA
I'm turning into Jerry.
Switching off the lights, she exits for the bedroom.
CUT TO:
EXT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - BINOCULAR POV - DAY
as Liza starts up the steps. Being watched.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
Two surveillance drones monitor Liza's movements.
BINOCULAR POV - SURVEILLANCE VAN
Someone's watching the watchers.
CLOSE ON JERRY
Observing the van through a pair of binoculars. It's
difficult to say where he is.
INT. ACROSS STREET - COFFEE SHOP - DAY
Jerry stands at the window, looking through a small
telescope.
INT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - WILSON'S OFFICE - DAY
Wilson looks across his desk to where Liza stands.
WILSON
I've been given a cease and desist
on all matters relating to Jerry
Fletcher. We're not to discuss
him with the press, the N.Y.P.D.,
anyone. Building police are to
arrest him on sight and we're to
report any attempt he makes to
contact you.
LIZA
This doesn't make sense.
WILSON
It makes perfect sense. Field
work is not our oeuvre.
LIZA
I don't like it. Something's
wrong.
WILSON
Dr. Jonas thought you might be
inclined not to cooperate. Why is
that?
LIZA
We don't know who Jonas is. We
don't know who it is we're
cooperating with.
WILSON
I've had a lot of credentials
flashed in my face, Liza. What I
saw yesterday, I know not to ask
questions. We're out. Shut off.
Terminated. Understood?
LIZA
-- Understood.
INT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - HALLWAY - DAY
Liza strides down the hall. LAWYERS, seen earlier in the
conference room, are talking. One looks over as Liza
nears.
LAWYER
Liza, settle a bet for us.
LIZA
(snaps)
What do I look like to you?
Switzerland?
They all lean a little closer to the wall, make sure she
has room to pass.
As Liza passes her secretary, Jill.
LIZA
Any messages?
JILL
Nothing so far, Liza.
INT. LIZA'S OFFICE - DAY
Liza enters, she looks at her equestrian photo a moment,
then BUZZES the INTERCOM.
LIZA
You're sure?
JILL (V.O.)
(over intercom)
Not a thing.
Sighing, Liza opens her briefcase, pulls out the
Conspiracy Theory newsletter and Jerry's subscriber list.
Sitting at her desk, she turns on her computer.
EXT. ACROSS FROM JUSTICE BUILDING - SIDEWALK - DAY
Lunchtime. A big crowd on the street. Among them --
Jerry. He wears a baseball cap, heads right for the van.
JERRY
Can't see the forest for the trees.
He holds a six inch length of steel rebar and a coil of
wire cable. He passes the van. No one in the front. At
the rear quarter, Jerry bends down to tie his shoes.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN
The DRONES hunch over a speaker as a reel-to-reel
records. We hear a TELEPHONE RING, a WOMAN'S VOICE say
"Hello?"
LIZA (V.O.)
(over speaker)
I'd like to speak to Mr. Ketcham.
WOMAN (V.O.)
This is Mrs. Ketcham.
INT. LIZA'S OFFICE - DAY
Liza's on the phone, unaware it's a party line.
LIZA
Hi, Mrs. Ketcham. Your husband
subscribes to our newsletter. I'd
like to ask him if he'd like to
renew his subscription.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
Where they listen, unaware of Jerry.
MRS. KETCHAM (WOMAN) (V.O.)
My husband's dead. He was killed
two nights ago in a car accident.
EXT. SIDEWALK - SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
On one end, the cable is sinched around the middle of the
length of the rebar. Jerry slides the bar through the
center hole of a manhole cover. The other end has a loop
which he attaches to the van's undercarriage. Shoes
tied, Jerry rises, continues on his way.
INT. LIZA'S OFFICE - DAY
Liza crosses the name Ketcham off the subscriber list.
There's just one name left: Henry Finch. In St. Louis.
Liza looks up as her office door opens and Jill carries
in a bouquet. Sunflowers -- seven of them.
JILL
They just came for you.
Liza opens the car: Go out front. Take the westbound
bus.
Liza stands, grabs her cell phone off the desk.
LIZA
Jill, I'm expecting a call from
the post office in St. Louis.
Transfer it to me when it comes.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
The Drones watch as Liza exits and heads for the bus
stop. As Drone #1 moves up into the driver's seat, Drone
#2 makes a call.
DRONE #2
Subject is on the move.
EXT. BUS STOP - DAY
A bus pulls up and Liza gets on.
EXT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
Facing the other way. As it pulls out, the wire
unspools.
INSERT - INSIDE MANHOLE
The wire whips up until the piece of rebar hits the hole.
STREET
The 155 pound manhole cover pops loose, bounces along
behind the van. As the van pulls a U-turn, the MANHOLE
whips around, SLAMS in the door of a parked car.
VAN
Drone #1 checks the side mirror, spots the manhole cover
bouncing along behind. He HITS the BRAKES. The van
stops, but the MANHOLE keeps coming. It SLAMS the rear
of the van, tears a three-foot gash before CLANGING to
the ground.
Drone #2 jumps out, tries to lift the manhole to thread
the rebar out. As he struggles, Drone #1 hits the HORN.
DRONE #1
We're losing her!
Giving up, Drone #2 gets back in the van. They take off.
The MANHOLE CLANGS along behind them, sideswipes a car.
That draws the attention of a police cruiser coming the
opposite direction. As the cherry lights flip on, the
manhole takes out the cruiser's windshield.
As the van turns the corner, the manhole wraps around a
pole. As the rear axle tears free of the van...
EXT. BUS STOP #2 - DAY
Jerry waits as the bus approaches, stops. Down the
street, the cops approach the van. Smiling, Jerry boards
the bus.
INT. BUS - DAY (ROLLING)
Jerry walks to the back, sits beside Liza.
JERRY
Did you see the van back there?
LIZA
(turning)
What van?
JERRY
Never mind. You'd think I was
making it up.
LIZA
Where'd you get your subscribers?
JERRY
I put an ad on a computer bulletin
board. I log on at the library so
I can't be traced.
LIZA
Well, I've been tracking them down
all morning.
JERRY
You haven't been bothering them,
have you?
LIZA
They're dead. Four out of five
anyhow. All in the last 24 hours.
One car accident, two heart
attacks and a stroke.
JERRY
Jesus... It's my fault. They drew
a black line over me and now I'm
passing it on.
(realizes)
I'm passing it to you, too.
LIZA
I'll be fine. Let's worry about
Henry Finch. P.O. Box in St.
Louis. He's the last on the list.
I haven't been able to reach him
yet.
JERRY
Maybe you better not try... I
worked so hard to keep quiet.
Like a mouse. I should have
realized.
LIZA
Realized what?
JERRY
Henry Finch. That they monitor
everything. That it was only a
matter of time. And now four
people are dead.
Liza reaches into her pocket, takes out the newsletter.
LIZA
Elaborate on 'they,' okay?
JERRY
There are all kinds of groups, all
kinds of initials. But they're
all part of two warring factions.
One: families that have held
wealth for centuries.
They want one thing. Stability.
Group Two: the boat rockers.
Eisenhower's military industrial
complex. They want instability.
It's a trillion dollar a year
business. When there isn't a hot
war, they make a cold one.
LIZA
Cold War's over, Jerry.
JERRY
So now they feed us terrorists.
To create fear. How much do you
think an airport security system
goes for? Then multiply it by
every airport in the country.
LIZA
And you think Group One is at war
with Group Two.
JERRY
Latest casualty? Ernest Harriman.
You heard of him?
LIZA
Sure. One of the richest men in
America until he died a few days
ago.
JERRY
His obituary was in every paper.
But not one of them said he was
murdered.
LIZA
Murdered?
JERRY
Right here in Manhattan.
LIZA
It said in the paper he drowned in
a swimming pool. In Newport.
JERRY
Nobody dies in Newport. They
couldn't even kill Sunny von Bulow
there. Harriman drowned, but it
wasn't in Newport.
LIZA
Where then?
INT. 7TH AVENUE SUBWAY STATION - DAY
Jerry and Liza stand amidst the hustle and bustle.
JERRY
Right here. In the 7th Street
subway station.
LIZA
What was he doing down here? A
billionaire waiting for the
subway? Why not drown him in a
bus? Why drown him at all? Why
not shoot him? Is the hitman from
the lost world of Atlantis? I
mean, come on.
JERRY
I see the big picture and you
stumble around in the details.
LIZA
They're big details, Jerry.
JERRY
Do you watch the news? Read the
paper. Last week, this whole
place was underwater.
LIZA
A water main broke.
JERRY
They don't break in the summer!
Do you know what building is right
over this spot? Harriman Tower.
Their sub-basement was flooded!
He didn't die in a pool. Call the
coroner in Rhode Island! Ask if
the water in his lungs was
chlorinated!
LIZA
Okay, I will.
JERRY
You will?
LIZA
If that's what you want. Yes.
She means it sincerely. She'll help. Jerry's touched.
JERRY
I don't know what to say.
(blurts)
I love you.
LIZA
What?
A spontaneous moment. Jerry's barely sure he said it.
JERRY
I -- It's like, I resolve to call
you up 1000 times a day. To ask
you if you'll marry me in some
old-fashioned way.
(shrugs)
Everything you do is magic.
LIZA
Those are song lyrics, Jerry.
JERRY
I know that. I'm just -- I'm
nervous. I reached out and
grabbed the first thing out there.
I know they're song lyrics. And I
know how I feel.
LIZA
I like you, Jerry. A lot.
JERRY
Oh, Christ, here it comes. Look,
I know you think I'm crazy. I
don't think I am, but...
LIZA
Jerry, I --
JERRY
What if I reached a point where
you didn't think I was crazy
anymore? If I was normal.
LIZA
If you were eating Kentucky Fried
Chicken and drinking Coca-Cola
again.
JERRY
Yeah... Would you, I mean, could
you love me then? If I was
normal. Maybe?
LIZA
Don't do this to yourself. Jerry.
You don't love me.
Jerry shakes his head.
JERRY
You're wrong. Since I met you, I
don't dream about holes anymore.
LIZA
Holes? I don't know what you're
talking about.
JERRY
Yesterday you were wondering about
the wall. How it was possible.
LIZA
Now's not really the time to get
into this --
JERRY
It's Geronimo. Love. It lets you
see things. It gives you insight.
I've loved you since the first
time I saw you.
After a long beat...
LIZA
And when was that? Was it that
night I got mugged? Or was it
before then?
Jerry looks away.
LIZA
Answer me. Was the first time you
saw me the first time I saw you?
Was it? You've been following me
around. Do you see how that could
be disconcerting to me? That's
not love, Jerry. It's obsession.
And it isn't normal and you can't
expect me to respond to it and you
can't expect me to feel the same
way.
(long beat)
Can you?
JERRY
I would never hurt you, Liza.
Think whatever you want, but don't
think that.
LIZA
I don't. I know you wouldn't.
JERRY
I thought you -- Why -- Love ruins
everything, doesn't it?
Jerry starts off through the crowd.
LIZA
Jerry? Come back.
Jerry starts to run. Liza starts after him, but she runs
into a commuter, then another. Jerry's lost in the
crowd.
The subway is about to leave. As Jerry gets on, Liza
spots him. The doors close. The train rolls. She moves
alongside, tries to get his attention, but he won't look
over.
SUBWAY TRAIN
Jerry finally looks back. He sees Liza an instant before
entering the tunnel, then a row of white strobe lights on
the tunnel wall. Jerry tries to blink them out as the
sound of conspiratorial whispers fill the train. He
looks about. It's all suddenly unreal. Certain
passengers turn their heads, leer at him.
FLASH CUT TO:
SUBJECTIVE POV
Mr. S. Mr. Sutton. Liza's father. Standing at a white
horse fence. His BACK TO us as whoever it is comes up
from behind. As a pistol is raised INTO FRAME, the
WHISPERING GROWS IN VOLUME. Mr. Sutton turns and
somewhere along the way, it BECOMES A SCREAM.
INT. 7TH AVENUE SUBWAY STATION - DAY
Liza stands there, curses herself as the last of the
train is swallowed by the tunnel. This isn't how she
meant things to turn out. Then, her CELL PHONE RINGS.
She takes it from her pocket, flips it open.
LIZA
Hello?
JILL (V.O.)
Liza, we got a call from the P.O.
in St. Louis. The mail for Henry
Finch is being forwarded. Right
here to Manhattan.
LIZA
Where?
EXT. FEDERAL BUILDING (MANHATTAN) - DAY
The same place where Jerry followed Clarke and Piper in
the beginning. As Liza enters...
JILL (V.O.)
The International Fund For Mergers
and Acquisitions.
INT. FEDERAL BUILDING - LOBBY - DAY
Liza steps to the building's directory, slides a finger
across. The Central Intelligence Agency occupies the
18th to the 22nd floors. Just like Jerry saw. Liza
drops her finger down... The 24th floor -- The
International Fund For Mergers and Acquisitions.
EXT. 24TH FLOOR - HALLWAY - DAY
Liza gets off the elevator, heads over to the door to the
I.F.M.A. What's really behind here? Liza takes a
breath, grabs the doorknob to find out.
INT. INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS -
DAY
A group of bureaucrats pass by discussing interest rates.
Liza steps over to a RECEPTIONIST.
LIZA
I'm here to see Henry Finch.
RECEPTIONIST
Who?
LIZA
Henry Finch.
The Receptionist looks her over a moment.
RECEPTIONIST
Is he expecting you?
Jackpot! Liza, dropdead official, flashes her
credentials.
LIZA
I'm Ms. Sutton with the Justice
Department. Could you tell Mr.
Finch I need to see him at once.
INT. HALLWAY - DAY
A SECRETARY leads Liza past cubicles full of clerks going
about business. They come to a door. Finch. They
enter.
FINCH'S OFFICE
No one's at the desk, but the door to the adjoining
bathroom is open. Liza can hear WATER RUNNING in the
SINK.
SECRETARY
He'll be right with you.
The Secretary exits, closing the door behind her. Liza
watches the bathroom door, apprehensive as she hears the
WATER TURN OFF. A prolonged moment before ...
Dr. Jonas exits the bathroom. He looks at her, smiles.
JONAS
If you're as impressed to see me
as I am to see you, you're very
impressed indeed. How's Jerry
feeling this morning?
LIZA
Fine. What the hell is going on?
JONAS
Please, sit.
Liza sits across from the desk. Jonas watches her
closely.
JONAS
What I'm about to tell you is
partially documented. The Freedom
of Information Act saw to that.
But much more of it isn't. For
reasons which will soon be
regrettably clear, I'm going to
share -- secrets -- with you.
Repeat any of it and you'll simply
bestow the title of 'paranoid'
upon yourself.
LIZA
Truth'll set you free. I'm
listening.
Jonas smiles sadly, turns his alumni ring around his
finger.
JONAS
Years ago, I worked for the C.I.A.
in the M.K. ULTRA program. Are
you familiar with it?
LIZA
It was mind control. Manchurian
Candidate kind of stuff, right?
JONAS
A vulgar pop term, but yes. Take
an ordinary man and turn him into
an assassin. That was our goal.
LIZA
Ask what you can do for your
country. That kind of thing.
JONAS
(ignores comment)
M.K. ULTRA was terminated in 1973.
But not the research. It was
renamed. EX CATCHER.
LIZA
As in Catcher in the Rye?
JONAS
I am impressed. We used the
distinctive cover as a sort of
mental flash card.
Jonas steps over, his tone growing more confidential.
JONAS
We experimented with
hallucinogens. We used electro-
shock to produce a vegetative
state. We conducted terminal
experiments in sensory
deprivation.
LIZA
Terminal?
JONAS
As in 'resulting in death.' We
pushed the envelope until it
wasn't even an envelope anymore.
LIZA
If I had any idea what to charge
you with or how to prove it, I'd
arrest you right here.
JONAS
Me? I was a minor missionary, a
heretic really. But where else
could a red-blooded American boy
lie, cheat, steal and kill with
the sanction and blessings of the
All-Highs? Besides, now I'm
trying to pay my penance.
LIZA
Missionary? Penance? You talk
about it like it was a religion.
JONAS
It was. It was.
Jonas says it almost sadly.
LIZA
Jerry told me he bit your nose.
JONAS
And what did I say?
LIZA
A dog.
JONAS
My dog. One I intend to put to
sleep. Extrapolate from there.
LIZA
These things you're talking about.
You did them to Jerry?
JONAS
Yes, that's right.
Liza looks at Jonas with revulsion. A moment.
LIZA
Why don't you continue with your
religious experiences?
Jonas smiles, nods in acquiescence.
JONAS
M.K. ULTRA, EX CATCHER, it all
ended the moment John Hinckley
shot Ronald Reagan.
He sees her eyes widen.
JONAS
It wasn't us. The science had
been sold. Pandora's Box opened.
My children were taken from me and
employed by the private sector.
Jerry was one of them.
A long beat as they consider each other. We hear the
CLOCK TICK on the credenza.
LIZA
I'm still listening.
JONAS
Jerry is dangerous. Jerry has
killed --
LIZA
I don't believe you.
Jonas looks a bit melancholy as he smiles, shrugs.
JONAS
Belief is immaterial. What's
important is the truth... It's
been my job to find Jerry. I'm
very much responsible for him.
LIZA
If this was a spy novel, your next
words would be something like I
now know too much to live. Why
are you telling me all this?
JONAS
So you'll believe what I tell you
next. Because I need to find
Jerry. And I don't think I can do
that without you.
Jonas reaches into a file on his desk, hands Liza a worn,
creased wallet-sized photo.
JONAS
Do you recognize this?
It's a smaller version of the photo of Liza and her
father that Liza keeps behind the treadmill. Liza's
stunned.
LIZA
Where'd you get it?
JONAS
You do recognize it then?
LIZA
It was my father's. Kept it in
his wallet. He was murdered --
JONAS
I know the story. A federal
judge. He denied a man in prison
an appeal for a new trial.
LIZA
Not a man. Ezekiel Walters.
JONAS
Walters had nothing to do with
your father's murder.
LIZA
You sound so sure.
Jonas doesn't answer. Liza looks at the photo. Jonas'
watches -- the observer.
LIZA
When they found him, he was
holding his wallet.
But he hadn't been robbed.
(to Jonas)
The only thing missing was this
photo. Where did you find it?
Jonas picks up a keyring, holds up an odd-shaped key.
JONAS
In Jerry's safety deposit box.
LIZA
I don't understand.
Jonas is coldly paternal as...
JONAS
Jerry killed your father, Liza.
And he's been obsessed with you
ever since... It's not even really
his fault. The blame is mine.
I'm sorry.
Liza looks up at the ceiling, the walls. Like a bird in
a cage as it sinks in. She blinks out a tear. Another.
No place to hide. Jerry.
LIZA
It all makes sense. Oh God. He
killed him. Jerry killed him.
Liza gulps a breath, covers her mouth with her hand.
She's going to be sick.
Jonas sees it. Like he's done it before, he turns his
trash can over, dumps the contents, hands it to her
empty.
PHOTO OF LIZA AND HER FATHER
TIGHTEN ON it as we hear LIZA RETCH. Painfully. Like
glass was coming up.
INT. OFFICE - CLOSE ON BUSINESS END OF TELESCOPE - DAY
Jerry on the other end. He stands at a half-washed
window with a bucket of soapy water and a squeegee,
stares up the street at ...
TELESCOPE POV - BLINDFOLDED JUSTICE
PAN DOWN the building TO the street. Two operatives wait
in a black sedan. PAN UP and ACROSS the street. Two
more operatives in a second black sedan facing the
opposite direction. The VIEW SWINGS AROUND.
TELESCOPE POV - HELICOPTER
Black. On a helipad two blocks away. An eight member
plainclothed CLEET unit milling. The VIEW SWINGS again
TO an adjacent rooftop. Two last operatives stand at the
edge, headphones on, scanning the area with parabolic
microphones.
JERRY
Smiles grimly.
JERRY
At least someone's finally taking
me seriously.
Spotting something below, Jerry raises the telescope.
TELESCOPE POV - STREET
A truck shaped like a slice of pizza pulls up. As the
pizza guy climbs out.
JERRY
Checks his watch, smiles. Pizza's right on time. He
turns, starts out. A hand clamps down on his shoulder.
VOICE (O.S.)
Hey!
WIDEN to include a BIG MAN. As Jerry balls a fist ...
BIG MAN
(gesturing)
You call that a clean window?
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - WILSON'S OFFICE - DAY
Wilson and Liza and Jonas and various hovering aides sit
in silence.
Waiting for something to happen. Liza jumps as the door
opens. WILSON'S SECRETARY steps in with the pizza.
WILSON'S SECRETARY
Ms. Sutton's pizza, sir.
LIZA
I didn't order... a pizza.
As Liza realizes, Jonas is already waving the Secretary
in. He grabs the box, sets it in front of Liza. She
looks at Wilson, then opens it. Pepperoni. With a note
on top.
LIZA
(reading)
Go to the northeast corner. Call
a cab. Bring the pizza.
(looks up)
Then there's a poem.
(reading)
Roses are red, violets are blue,
if the Pope goes to Washington, I
would, too.
WILSON
What the hell does that mean?
As Liza hands Wilson the note.
WILSON
Somebody find out if the Pope's
scheduled to visit Washington?!
As people scramble, Jonas looks across at Liza.
JONAS
If you're up to it, I'd like to
follow him. See where he goes.
WILSON
No, hold on. I don't think --
LIZA
It's okay. I'm game.
JONAS
(re: pizza box)
I want this box rigged with a
beacon!
EXT. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT - DAY
Liza exits carrying the pizza. MOVE WITH her as she
heads to the NE corner. She has no sooner raised her
hand when a Yellow Cab pulls up at the curb. Jerry
behind the wheel.
JERRY
Where to, lady?
Liza hesitates a beat, then gets in on the passenger
side.
LIZA
You tell me.
The cab rolls. A sedan follows; the second pulls a
U-turn.
EXT. HELIPAD - DAY
The helicopter lifts off.
EXT. COMMAND VAN - PARKED BEHIND JUSTICE - DAY
A big box van. Jonas and Wilson enter. A dot (the
beacon) flashes on a city grid. They roll.
EXT. YELLOW CAB - HELICOPTER POV
Driving the city grid. There are other taxis down here,
but not so many that they'll be lost.
INT. HELICOPTER - COCKPIT - DAY
The PILOT flies. His SPOTTER is on the radio.
SPOTTER
Rolling east. Fender number 1301.
INT. SEDAN ONE - ROLLING - DAY
One of the Operatives on the radio.
OPERATIVE
We're on him. Seventy-five yards
back.
INT. COMMAND VAN - ROLLING - DAY
Wilson and Jonas listen as the OPERATIVES AND the SPOTTER
TALK BACK AND FORTH.
INT. YELLOW CAB - ROLLING - DAY
Liza instinctively sits as close to the door as possible.
Not noticing, Jerry grabs a piece of pizza, eats.
JERRY
It's good. Have some.
She waves him off.
JERRY
How'd they like that thing about
the pope? I made it up. Threw it
in there to get 'em going.
Liza doesn't answer. It's no longer cute. She anxiously
starts to check the side mirror. Catches herself.
JERRY
You look great.
LIZA
(flat)
Thanks.
Liza looks away, can barely stand this.
JERRY
Are you okay? I wish I hadn't
told you what I did. But I can't
help the way I feel. You don't
hold that against me, do you?
LIZA
No. That wouldn't be fair. Where
are we going, Jerry?
JERRY
It would be a lot easier for me to
show you instead of tell you. But
first things first.
Jerry checks his rearview mirror, looking for the car.
Liza feigns ignorance.
LIZA
What is it?
JERRY
There's a car following us.
Probably another one flanking us
the next street over.
Jerry leans forward to look upwards through the
windshield.
JERRY
And somewhere up top, a chopper.
Liza looks up as well, her acting convincing.
JERRY
They think they're so smart...
Actually, they are.
EXT. HELICOPTER - DAY
1000 feet above. Tough to lose.
EXT. YELLOW CAB - ROLLING - DAY
The light ahead goes yellow. The cab speeds up. Red
light. The car ahead stops. The cab weaves around,
squeezes the intersection just ahead of the cross
traffic.
INT. SEDAN ONE - DAY
Turns into the oncoming lane to follow, but is forced
back.
OPERATIVE
He made us!
INT. HELICOPTER - COCKPIT - DAY
No problems up here.
SPOTTER
We've got him. He's headed for
the bridge.
Down below and ahead, the Queensboro Bridge.
EXT. SEDAN TWO - ROLLING - DAY
Flanking as Jerry thought, they turn left ahead of where
Sedan One is stuck in traffic.
OPERATIVE #2
We're on him!
INT. COMMAND VAN - ROLLING - DAY
Watching the blip, Jonas gets on the air.
JONAS
Jonas to ground units. The
helicopter has him. Hang back and
let him think he lost you.
INT. SEDAN TWO - ROLLING - DAY
Following orders, they slow.
INT. YELLOW CAB (QUEENSBORO BRIDGE) - SUNSET
They turn onto the ramp for the bridge. Headed for the
lower section of the double-decker.
LIZA
We're going to Queens?
JERRY
Not today.
INT. HELICOPTER - COCKPIT - SUNSET
They watch as the Yellow Cab disappears from sight.
SPOTTER
On the bridge. Lower level.
As they ZOOM over it...
INT. YELLOW CAB (BRIDGE) - SUNSET
Halfway across it. Without warning, Jerry locks it up,
whips the wheel around. Liza screams as the cab slides
sideways.
EXT. BRIDGE - BRONX-BOUND LANES - SUNSET
HORNS BLARE. The cab blocks traffic. Jerry exits,
shouts for Liza to follow. The grabs the pizza box,
joins him at the center guardrail.
LIZA
Now what?
JERRY
This way.
Jerry climbs over the median, drops over to the other
side. He holds out his hand. She pauses, then takes it.
As she goes over, she drops the pizza box. She reaches
for it, but Jerry pulls her along.
JERRY
Forget it! I'll buy you another
one!
MANHATTAN-BOUND LANES
already slow with commuters. Across the lanes, an
abandoned car, it's rear end up on a jack.
Jerry raises a cautionary hand to traffic, starts across
with Liza in tow. He steps over to the abandoned car.
JERRY
After you.
(as she hesitates)
It's okay. I'm the one who left
it here.
LIZA
Where are we going, Jerry?
JERRY
Connecticut.
LIZA
What's in Connecticut?
Jerry takes her arm, guides her in.
JERRY
I don't mean to be mysterious, but
you'll know when we get there.
Jerry, behind the wheel, STARTS the CAR. Suddenly, he
stares to the left, transfixed. Liza follows his gaze,
but the only thing apparent are the three red-and-white
smokestacks of the Con-Edison plant.
But before Liza can ask, Jerry snaps out of it.
The front-wheel-drive digs in. The jack spits loose and
the rear end hits the asphalt. As they blend into
traffic.
EXT. HELICOPTER - SUNSET
Waiting over the Jersey-end of the bridge, no idea of
what's going on. The Spotter realizes ...
SPOTTER
Drop down.
They drop, see that no more cars are coming off the
bridge.
EXT. BRIDGE - SEDAN TWO - SUNSET
Stopped in traffic. The helicopter Spotter on the radio.
SPOTTER (V.O.)
Something's wrong. We're going
in.
The Operatives get out of the sedan, rush forward.
EXT. HELICOPTER - SUNSET
Hovering low, deploying its CLEET unit onto the bridge.
EXT. QUEENSBORO BRIDGE - SUNSET
The abandoned car drives off the bridge. Jerry and Liza
go completely unnoticed. PULL BACK AS they become a very
small needle in a very big haystack.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
The CAR WHIZZES past the "Entering Connecticut" sign.
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Jerry drives. The RADIO PLAYS SOFTLY. Liza sits as far
over as possible. Quiet, then finally...
JERRY
Ted Bundy. David Berkowitz.
Richard Speck.
The names just hang in the air. Liza is scared.
Finally, curiosity gets the best of her.
LIZA
What about them?
JERRY
How come serial killers have two
names, but lone gunman assassins
have three. John Wilkes Booth.
Mark David Chapman. Lee Harvey
Oswald.
LIZA
(after a beat)
John Hinkley. The guy who shot
Reagan. He only had two names.
JERRY
(without hesitation)
Reagan didn't die. If he had
died, everybody would know what
Johnny's middle name was.
Jerry smiles, but she doesn't smile back. As he
concentrates on his driving...
Liza eases her little cell phone out of her pocket.
Holding it at her side, half-turning away from Jerry, she
flips it open, turns it on. Enter a pre-dial code:
"WILSON" flashes across the display. As Liza holds her
thumb over the ear speaker-holes...
INT. WILSON'S OFFICE - NIGHT
As Wilson and Jonas and the team confab, the PHONE RINGS.
Wilson's SECRETARY answers it in the b.g.
WILSON'S SECRETARY
Mr. Wilson's office. Hello?
Hello?
As she hangs up...
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Liza sees the light go out on the phone. Shit. She
glances at Jerry, hits redial.
INT. WILSON'S OFFICE - NIGHT
As the PHONE RINGS again...
WILSON'S SECRETARY
Mr. Wilson's office. Hello?
She moves to hang it up again when suddenly, Jonas grabs
her wrist. He takes the PHONE, listens. CELLULAR
CRACKLES, ROAD NOISE. Jonas knows.
JONAS
It's her. The line's open. Get a
trace on it.
As they go into action...
INT. CAR - NIGHT
Liza sticks the live-line phone between the seat and the
back.
EXT. HIGHWAY - NIGHT
The abandoned car takes the exit for "Bumps River Road."
INT. ABANDONED CAR - NIGHT
Liza sits up, doesn't like this at all. For the third
time.
LIZA
Where are we going?
Jerry doesn't answer.
LIZA
Where?!
Jerry pulls over, stops alongside the woods.
EXT. ROADSIDE - WOODS - NIGHT
JERRY
Haven't you figured it out yet?
Liza stares into the woods, knows what's in there.
LIZA
My father's house.
JERRY
Come on.
Liza takes a last look at the cell phone antennae
sticking out from the seat and follows Jerry out. They
head into the woods, he a bit behind her.
EXT. BARN - NIGHT
The trees thin. Liza and Jerry step out, start to walk
along the side of an old barn.
JERRY
How do you really know there's
gold in Fort Knox? Just because
they say so? We should go to
Tennessee and demand to see it.
LIZA
You go. Send me a postcard.
They continue, Liza nervous as hell. Her eyes dart
ahead.
LIZA'S POV
An old well at ground level. Covered over with boards,
some of which are rotten.
BARN
A plan taking shape, Liza heads toward the boards.
Jerry's nervous, can't keep his mouth shut.
JERRY
You know who was the first
President to be assassinated?
George Washington. His doctor
bled him to death.
They near the rotten boards. Jerry's behind and to
Liza's right. She's leading him into a trap.
JERRY
There's a fraternity of secrecy.
And anyone trying to expose it is
labeled a hopeless paranoid.
As she's about to skirt the edge of the well, Jerry
suddenly leaps forward, grabs her. She nearly screams.
JERRY
Watch out!
Jerry gestures at the rotting boards, thinks he saved
her.
JERRY
You could've fallen down there.
He releases her, then stares at the distant silhouette of
a house. She's really scared.
LIZA
What's your middle name, Jerry?
Jerry looks over, cocks his head kind of funny.
JERRY
What do you mean? Liza?
As he takes a step toward her, Liza takes two steps back.
JERRY
Liza?
LIZA
Did you kill him?
JERRY
Is that what they told you?
LIZA
Did you kill my father?
Jerry shakes his head. Liza wants to believe him, but...
LIZA
Then why did you have his picture
in your safe deposit box?
JERRY
He gave it to me.
LIZA
I don't understand.
JERRY
Where were you the day he died?
LIZA
At a horse show.
JERRY
That's the last time you rode,
isn't it? Do you think it was
your fault? Is that why?
LIZA
Did you kill my father?!
JERRY
No...! But they trained me to.
M.K. ULTRA. EX-CATCHER. America
works. Get rid of the crazy
people, the lone gunmen, and the
system still works.
Liza tries to stop his rant before it takes over.
LIZA
Jerry. Please. You don't
understand. I have to know. It's
all I think about. Do you have
any idea what it's like not to
know?
JERRY
Yeah. I know what it's like.
LIZA
Then tell me what happened.
JERRY
Can't give you the details because
I can't remember. I went to court
to kill him. At the Ezekiel
Walters hearing. I was supposed
to shoot him at the press
conference. You were there.
That's the first time I saw you.
LIZA
(sarcastic)
Love at first sight?
JERRY
I don't know what it was. All I
know is I had a gun in my hand,
but when I saw you standing with
him, I couldn't do it. If that's
love, it's not so bad.
(a beat)
I found a part of myself that day.
I couldn't go back.
LIZA
Back where?
JERRY
To Jonas. I didn't know that at
the time. Didn't know who he was.
(beat)
But I knew inside, whoever he was,
he'd send someone else. So I
started watching your father. I
wanted to keep him safe.
There's a sincerity in Jerry's voice that's hard to
ignore.
LIZA
Someone else might call it
stalking. My dad felt it. He
started carrying a gun.
JERRY
He kept it in the side table in
the front hallway.
(off her look)
He showed me. I visited a few
times. Then one of Jonas's guys
visited. When I arrived, your dad
was dying.
LIZA
Why? What do these guys have to
do with Ezekiel Walters?
JERRY
Walters was their fall guy. Blow
up a building and blame a nut.
Create fear. Don't you see? Your
father wasn't trying to keep
Walters in prison. He was looking
into getting him out. He didn't
believe the official story.
LIZA
Why not?
Jerry looks away, can't answer.
LIZA
Why not, Jerry?
JERRY
(a whisper)
Because he believed me.
A raw honesty to the words. Stunned, she only has one
question left.
LIZA
How'd you get the picture?
JERRY
Your father, he was dying. He was
worried about you. He took your
picture out to look at it. He
called you his baby.
Liza starts to softly cry.
JERRY
I told him I'd keep you safe. I
took the picture and I've been
watching you ever since.
(a beat)
Please don't cry.
Liza looks at Jerry. He looks like he's on the verge of
tears himself. She's not afraid of him anymore. But
more important than that...
LIZA
I believe you.
JERRY
You do?
She nods. They embrace. Just a lost soul and a lonely
one trying to comfort each other. Suddenly, Liza pulls
away.
LIZA
You got to get out of here. My
cell phone's on. Back in the
truck.
JERRY
They'll trace it.
LIZA
I'm sorry.
JERRY
(smiles)
It's okay. You... You thought I
was bad.
WHITE LIGHT
hits them from the woods on one side.
Then from the house on the other. Jerry grabs Liza's
hand to run, but GUNFIRE RIPS into the FENCE beyond them.
VOICE (O.S.)
Hands behind your head!
A third light. This one from a helicopter descending.
Blinded by lights, Jerry knows there's nowhere to run
this time. He raises his hands, laces them behind his
head.
VOICE (O.S.)
Step away from him, Ms. Sutton!
Jerry squints over at her.
JERRY
Is his gun still in the hall
table?
Liza nods.
JERRY
Go get it. And when you got it,
keep going.
VOICE (O.S.)
(closing)
Step away, Miss Sutton!
Members of the CLEET Unit step in. Two from either side.
They grab Jerry, cuff him and start him toward the
helicopter.
LIZA
Wait a minute --
CLEET #1 shoves her back. Jerry dips, drives his
shoulder into CLEET #1's back. He looks back over his
shoulder at Liza. Not worried about himself.
JERRY
Go get it.
The CLEETs pound him. The chopper touches down, the door
thrown open. As Wilson gets off, Jerry is hustled past
him and onboard.
WILSON
Liza, are you alright?
Wilson looks back as the CHOPPER MOTOR REVS, the skids
lift off the ground. In the doorway, Jonas waves goodbye.
The helicopter rises -- revealing CLEET #5, Clark and
Piper standing beyond. They hold 9mms.
As CLEET #5 SHOOTS Wilson TWICE in the chest, Liza turns
and runs for the house. They FIRE at her, then give
chase.
INT. HELICOPTER - FLIGHT DECK - NIGHT
Jerry struggles. Jammed into a corner, he watches after
Liza, his face pressed against the glass.
JONAS
You've embarrassed me, Jerry.
You've made certain people take
notice of me who shouldn't.
Jerry's not listening. He only has eyes for Liza. Down
below, her legs churn her toward the house.
JONAS
We've arranged for you to take the
blame. Everyone knows how you've
been harassing the poor girl.
JERRY
(ready to burst)
Liza!
JONAS
You shouldn't watch, Jerry. It's
a moment without hope.
JERRY
(chokes it out)
You've never seen her run.
Liza disappears as darkness swallows the scene.
Helpless, hopeless, Jerry pounds his forehead against the
glass. Jonas watches, amused, till Jerry finds the
strength to lunge at him. As Jerry's driven down to the
deck...
EXT. BARN - NIGHT
Liza turns the corner, runs alongside with CLEET #5
closing. Liza throws a look back over her shoulder then
ahead. The rotten planking covering the well looms.
Liza skirts one side, but CLEET #5 steps right into the
middle of it. CRASH! As he disappears down...
EXT. CORRAL FENCE - NIGHT
Liza runs. As Clark closes, she jerks back the gate to
the hot walker, continues as the aluminum bar catches
Clark in the teeth. As he drops...
FURTHER BACK
Piper steadies his aim on the fence, sites through a
scope.
INFRARED POV - LIZA
Running away FROM us, but an easy target.
PIPER
Confident, his finger squeezes...
INFRARED POV
As Liza is suddenly blotted out by a big green shape.
CLARK
Mouth smashed, he's gotten up on shaky legs, only to have
the back of his head blown off by Piper.
BACK TO SCENE
Piper doesn't get a second chance as Liza disappears from
view.
EXT. LIZA'S FATHER'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Liza hits the front steps. In stride, she picks up a
porch CHAIR, flings it THROUGH a PICTURE WINDOW.
Piper follows behind as she enters.
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Dark. Much to Liza's advantage. She makes it to the
hall as Piper trips over a hammock.
HALLWAY
Liza pulls open the drawer of the hall table, fishes out
a .38, turns just as Piper turns the corner. Caught by
surprise, he goes down as Liza FIRES all SIX ROUNDS. She
HITS another SIX EMPTY CHAMBERS before she stops pulling
the trigger.
EXT. LIZA'S FATHER'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Reloading, Liza looks out through the broken window.
It's quiet. Peaceful even. The helicopter is gone.
Just the CRICKETS. She disappears back inside.
INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT
Liza goes to the phone on the side table, dials a number.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
LIZA
I need to speak with an Agent
Lowry.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
The office is closed for the
evening. Is this an emergency?
LIZA
Do you have an Agent Lowry in your
New York office?
Liza closes her eyes, sure the answer will be no.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Yes.
LIZA
(opens eyes)
Then this is a goddamn emergency.
INT. NEW YORK APARTMENT - STUDY - NIGHT
Seen FROM BEHIND. A MAN sits in a leather chair reading
the paper. A PHONE on a stand beside him RINGS.
MAN
(answering)
Lowry.
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Agent Lowry, it's Lynn Matthews at
the Bureau. I hate to disturb you
at home, but I have a Liza Sutton
on the phone from the Justice
Department. She says it's an
emergency.
The CAMERA ARCS AROUND to reveal FBI AGENT LOWRY. About
60, paunchy with white hair. Not our Lowry, but the
Lowry.
MAN
Never heard the name... Put her
through.
INT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM (SOMEWHERE) - NIGHT
Our Agent Lowry waits with phone in hand as technicians
monitor the call. OVER a SPEAKER:
OPERATOR (V.O.)
Go ahead, Miss Sutton.
LIZA (V.O.)
Agent Lowry?
A Technician nods to Lowry as he switches him over.
LOWRY
Liza, what can I do for you?
INT. NEW YORK APARTMENT - STUDY - NIGHT
The Man holds the phone to his ear.
MAN
Hello? Hello?
INT. 12TH FLOOR - ELEVATORS - NIGHT
The doors open. Lowry, Liza, six "FBI" agents and a
building SECURITY GUARD step off. Badges on jackets,
MOVE WITH them as they stride the hallway with purpose.
Suite 1203. I.F.M.A. Lowry and Liza wait impatiently as
the Guard keys the door. Guns drawn, they burst in.
INT. INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS -
NIGHT
Stop short. The place is empty.
The dividing walls are even missing. The only thing
that's here are some ladders, tarps and painting
materials. Liza is stunned.
SECURITY GUARD
I told you. They haven't moved in
yet.
CUT TO:
JERRY
Strapped to a metal chair in front of blinding white
lights. Only now, it's really happening. Jonas steps
over, an electrode in either hand. Jerry's chin is down
on his chest. He's already been through the ringer.
JERRY
Monkey finger. Shoot Coca-Cola.
Gently, Jonas slides one of the electrodes under his chin
and lifts his head.
JONAS
Who else knows what you know?
Jerry just blinks back at him.
JONAS
Liza Sutton is dead.
JERRY
Then I can't be hurt anymore.
Jerry squeezes his eyes shut. As tears roll down his
cheeks, Jonas fires up the juice.
JONAS
(looming)
I'll be the judge of that.
CLOSE ON JERRY'S HAND
OVER the CRACKLE of ELECTRICAL CURRENT, the strap snaps
taut as Jerry tries to reach through the ceiling for the
moon.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
A sink and dirty mattress on the floor. Two CLEETs drag
in Jerry. Unconscious, he's dumped on the floor by a
narrow heating duct. They leave, lock the door behind
them. Jerry doesn't move, doesn't make a sound. A rag
doll.
EXT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL - DARKENED WINDOW - NIGHT
We hear the sounds of the CITY, but it's impossible to
tell where we are. Practically a show, Jonas stares
out the window. A CLEET appears vaguely over his
shoulder.
CLEET
She got away.
JONAS
Good God... Find her.
INT. FEDERAL BUILDING - 12TH FLOOR - ELEVATORS - NIGHT
No luck. As the mystery agents pile back onto the
elevator, Liza takes Lowry's arm.
LIZA
Can I talk to you a second?
LOWRY
(to others)
Go ahead. We'll be right down.
The doors close leaving just Liza and Lowry.
LIZA
Do you believe me?
LOWRY
Yeah, I do.
LIZA
I want to believe you, too.
LOWRY
What do you mean?
Liza points her father's .38 into his face.
LIZA
Who's the Deputy Director of the
F.B.I.?
LOWRY
You think we have time to fool
around like this? Come on.
He tries to move on, but she cocks back the hammer.
LIZA
The Deputy Director.
Lowry shrugs. He doesn't know.
LOWRY
What gave me away?
LIZA
Nothing. I was just making sure.
So, who are you?
Lowry looks at her, grimly shakes his head.
LIZA
I'm going to find Jerry. I'm --
Who are you? One of them?
Liza looks ready to pull the trigger.
LOWRY
I'm, it really doesn't matter.
Think C.I.A. and exponentiate.
I'm a government employee and I've
been watching Jerry for awhile.
LIZA
And Jonas?
LOWRY
He's why I watch Jerry. Jerry's
the bait for Jonas.
LIZA
He's shown himself. Why haven't
you arrested him or killed him or
done whatever it is you do?
LOWRY
Jonas builds assassins for a
living. Several of whom may be in
place already. We'd like to kill
a few birds with one stone.
LIZA
Where do you think Jerry is?
LOWRY
No idea. Honest. What are you
going to do?
LIZA
I'm going to find him. Because
he'd find me.
LOWRY
Don't go home. And don't go to
work. Either one could be bad.
LIZA
What do you suggest?
LOWRY
That you come with me.
LIZA
I don't think so.
She coldcocks him, the .38 across the back of the head.
As Lowry goes down, Liza heads for the stairwell. As she
disappears, Lowry gets up, clutching the back of his
head. She should have double-checked.
LOWRY
(as he follows)
I don't get paid enough for
this...
INT. JERRY'S BUILDING - DOWNSTAIRS HALLWAY - NIGHT
Ready for anything, .38 in one hand and a flashlight in
the other, Liza walks the hall. She stops at a door
draped with Arson Investigation Site tape. She wrenches
down a nailed 2x4, steps between the others. Enters.
INT. DOWNSTAIRS APARTMENT - NIGHT
Liza closes the door behind her, shines the light.
Debris has fallen through a hole in the ceiling. Liza
steps through the rubble to the Wonderwall.
Sooty, singed, partially curled at the edges of the paper
it was done on. Liza shines the light. She's as taken
with it now as the first time.
The more she stares at it the more frustrating it
becomes. Fighting back tears, growling back her anger,
Liza grabs a corner and tears, then tears again, trying
to destroy this thing which affects her so.
When she's done, the Wonderwall hangs in tatters. And as
Liza tries to get a hold of herself, she realizes...
There's a second painting behind the first.
Liza pulls down the tatters of brown butcher paper which
made the first. The second is the POV of a room. In
fact, it's entitled: "In My Room." In the b.g., a
window. F.g., a sinister chair with straps, hooks and
other exaggerated apparatus for keeping someone sitting
there. Discarded, macabre syringes litter the floor. A
flashing light partially obscures a face reflected in a
mirror. Jonas?
The whole effect is unnerving, but tells Liza nothing
more. Until... she takes a second look at the window.
It's blocked by three red-and-white-striped bars. As
Liza runs her hand over them...
CUT TO:
EXT. QUEENSBORO BRIDGE - NIGHT
Liza pulls her BMW over to the side, gets out and goes to
the rail. She stares across at the three red-and-white
smokestacks of the Con-Ed plant. The view through the
window in Jerry's room.
Liza scans the riverfront buildings on Roosevelt Island
across from the plant. There are only a few that would
match and one stands out from the rest...
CUT TO:
EXT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT (LATE)
A few lights burn, all on one half of the building. A
security board at the desk, the doors are chained and
padlocked shut. Liza stops across from a brass inlaid
letters which identify it as...
"Germaine O. Nicols Mental ospital."
The "H" is missing from "Hospital." Liza is about to
continue when... enlightenment! Running her hand along,
she alters the letters, blacking some of them out:
"Germaine O. Nicols Mental ospital."
LIZA
Ger-o-ni-m-o...
CUT TO:
EXT. BACK OF HOSPITAL - KITCHEN DOOR - NIGHT
An institutional foods truck unloads. As the driver
passes with the hand truck, Liza slips in the building.
INT. HOSPITAL - KITCHEN - NIGHT
The cook grumbles by. Liza ducks behind a dishwasher,
looks across at a roach. As it twitches an antenna...
INT. MENTAL HOSPITAL - HALLWAY - NIGHT
A nurse disappears, turning around a corner. Liza pads
her way along. Looks into a room.
ROOM
Three middle-aged men asleep on their backs, mouths
agape, sleep obviously no release.
INT. NURSE'S DESK - NIGHT
The charge nurse dozes as Liza creeps by.
INT. ROOM TWO - NIGHT
Three WOMEN this time -- two asleep, one rocking back and
forth on her knees.
WOMAN
Hey naw-ne naw-ne. Hey naw-ne
naw-ne. Hey naw-ne naw-ne.
A horrific sight. Liza turns from it and into...
HALLWAY TWO
She turns right into an ORDERLY. Standing square, hands
on his hips.
ORDERLY
Can I help you?
Collecting herself, she reaches into her pocket for her
ID.
LIZA
I'm with the Justice Department.
As she produces and hands over a $100 bill, he eyes the
.38 in her hand.
LIZA
I need to see any new patients
you've gotten in the last twelve
hours.
(eyes him eyeing)
You can say I threatened to shoot
you.
ORDERLY
Sounds like you got it covered.
Come on.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Jerry's still lying on the floor where he was left. But
he's starting to stir. Feeling like he was already dead,
maybe even wishing he was.
INT. 2ND FLOOR - HALLWAY THREE - NIGHT
The Orderly leads Liza to a door.
ORDERLY
In here. White guy in his 30s.
He opens the door and they step into...
ROOM THREE
There's a white guy in his mid-30s. He looks up. Wild.
Straight-jacketed. Not Jerry. Liza's reached the end of
her rope. She just shakes her head.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Balled up. Fetal. Not really all there. Head pressed
to the cement, he tries to sing to himself.
JERRY
Blue moon... Blue moon...
INT. 2ND FLOOR - HALLWAY THREE - NIGHT
Liza just stands there, leaning on a rail on the wall.
The Orderly isn't sure what's going on, but he knows it's
bad.
ORDERLY
You okay?
Liza starts down the hall with the Orderly following.
ORDERLY
We got some new patients last
week. You want to see them?
Liza waves them off. It's hopeless. She stops at a
chicken-wired window at the end of the hall, looks out.
Light's about to break and Jerry's out there somewhere.
ORDERLY
Look, I gotta get back to work.
She turns, grabs his arms.
LIZA
Did you hear that?
ORDERLY
What?
Liza looks up at the air duct. Pulling a laundry cart
over, she climbs up, presses her ear against the grill.
JERRY (V.O.)
(singing)
Blue moon... Blue moon...
LIZA
Jerry...? Jerry.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
We hear LIZA'S DISTANT "JERRY," but it doesn't register
with Jerry. He's all inside now.
JERRY
Blue moon...
LIZA (V.O.)
(singing back)
You saw me standing alone ...
Jerry's eyes open. He heard that. Maybe. He sings.
JERRY
Without a song in my heart.
LIZA (V.O.)
Without a love of my own.
INT. 2ND FLOOR - HALLWAY THREE - NIGHT
As Liza sings into the vent, the Orderly thinks he may
have a new customer.
JERRY (V.O.)
Blue moon...
LIZA
(joining)
You knew just what I was there
for.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Jerry moves closer to the vent as the two of them sing
their "duet." She's alive. It finally, really sinks in.
JERRY
Liza?
LIZA
Where are you?
INT. 2ND FLOOR - HALLWAY THREE - NIGHT
Liza, now joined by the Orderly, listens as...
JERRY (V.O.)
Here. North wing. First floor.
Liza looks to the Orderly for help.
ORDERLY
The north wing's closed off...
This way.
GALVANIZED DOOR
A heavy locking bracket riveted to the door. The Orderly
smacks the padlock with a fire extinguisher. Once,
twice. The lock flies off. Liza pushes the door open to
a dark hallway. The windows are boarded over.
Foreboding.
ORDERLY
This is as far as I go.
LIZA
Get the police down here.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Jerry has crawled his way over to the sink.
JERRY
Diversion. Need a diversion.
Hands cuffed, he pulls himself up, leans heavily on the
lip. As an afterthought, he stares into the mirror.
JERRY
Liza's coming. Gotta look sharp.
Jerry runs a hand through his hair, collapses.
INT. DECREPIT HALLWAY ONE - NIGHT
A CLEET on patrol. He passes a doorway into an abandoned
room. As he turns a corner, Liza steps out of the room,
continues the opposite way.
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
His feet braced against the wall, Jerry pulls on a PIPE
under the sink. It GROANS, CREAKS, and then SNAPS.
Water geysers up. Jerry sputters out of the way.
INT. DECREPIT STAIRWELL - NIGHT
Liza makes her way down.
INT. DECREPIT HALLWAY TWO - NIGHT
A CLEET GUARD outside a door. He looks down as water
pools at his feet. Turning, he sees it runs from under
the door. There's a 5x5-inch window on the door, but the
view is blocked by a hard, white surface. The Guard raps
the glass.
GUARD
What's going on there?!
(off no answer)
Where's the water coming from?
INT. DECREPIT HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Jerry holds a toilet lid over the glass. Another RAP.
GUARD (V.O)
Answer me!
The BOLTS BEING SLID BACK. Jerry stumbles as the door is
pushed open. The Guard enters, leading with his 9mm.
JERRY
You had to see for yourself,
didn't you?
GUARD
(re: sink)
Where'd you think that was going
to get you?
The Guard is unaware that Liza has appeared in the
doorway behind him. Jerry smiles.
JERRY
Right where we are now.
The Guard steps forward to let Jerry have it. He freezes
at the HAMMER CLICKING back on the .38.
LIZA
Drop it.
Cursing himself, the Guard lets the 9mm slip to the
floor.
LIZA
Turn around.
The Guard turns. As he does, Jerry raises the toilet
lid, cracks it down over the top of the Guard's head.
The exertion sends Jerry sprawling, as well. He looks
up.
JERRY
So, what do you think? Is
something going on here or what?
INT. DECREPIT HALLWAY TWO - NIGHT
Jerry (armed with the 9mm) and Liza exit. Liza slides
the bolts back on the door. Footsteps and voices ahead.
Jerry leans on Liza as they start their escape in the
opposite direction. They've just disappeared around one
corner when Jonas and CLEETS #3 and #4 appear around the
corner.
JONAS
Where's the guard?
Slipping in the water, the CLEETS hurry forward. One of
them looks through the window, scowls as the second
unbolts the door. As Jonas sees the unconscious Guard
and the toilet lid, he does not look happy.
EXT. GERMAINE O. NICOLS MENTAL HOSPITAL - NIGHT
A man approaches from one end of the sidewalk. Flip, the
black owner of the newsstand Jerry frequents. No longer
wheelchair-bound. As he converges with Agent Lowry.
INT. HOSPITAL ENTRY - NIGHT
The old security guard watches a little TV.
TV ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
The President had left the area
only moments earlier and is
currently in Germany. Again, the
quake in Southern Turkey measured
seven-point-three on the Richter
scale. Thousands are feared
missing or dead...
He looks up as from outside, Lowry shoulders back the
door, exposing the chain. Flip cuts through it with a
portable torch. Lowery bursts through, passing the
sputtering old security guard. The whole entry takes
about two seconds.
INT. INTERSECTING HALLWAYS - NIGHT
Jerry and Liza make their way along. Ahead, a CLEET
crossing the intersection. SHOTS are exchanged. Liza
and Jerry hug the wall, move back the way they came. As
the CLEET gets on his headset, they duck down...
EAST HALLWAY
Jerry, who knows where he's going, motions Liza ahead.
JERRY
This way.
Only a few steps and another CLEET ahead. More SHOTS
FIRED and they duck down...
SOUTH HALLWAYS
Jerry takes Liza's hand and they run. Left here. Right
there.
EAST HALLWAY
Flip and Lowry, infiltrate. They exchange FIRE with a
CLEET.
INTERSECTING HALLWAYS
The GUNFIRE is DISTANT here. Jonas gets the report from
CLEET #4, who gets it over his headset.
CLEET #4
He's somewhere on the south side
of the wing.
JONAS
(thinks a beat)
I know where he's going.
Jonas strides away, CLEETS #4 and #3 hurrying to keep up.
INT. ALCOVE/DEAD-END HALLWAY - DAWN
They reach the end, a narrow alcove to the left.
LIZA
It's a dead end.
A 2-foot by 2-foot sliding door on the wall. Padlocked.
Jerry aims, SHOOTS the lock off. He opens the door to
reveal a dumbwaiter.
LIZA
How did you know?
JERRY
I spent two years here. This used
to bring the med-cart. Demerol.
Phenobarb. It's Jacob's Ladder.
Jerry hits a button on the wall. Nothing. No power.
Liza looks back over her shoulder at distant gunfire.
LIZA
Something's going on back there.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! She spins as Jerry FIRES into the
wall. He tears plaster back in huge chunks to reveal the
dumbwaiter mechanism. A looped bicycle chain, running
over teeth on a motor below and disappearing up a shaft
above.
He kicks the bottom loop off the motor.
JERRY
Get in. I'll pull you up to the
fourth floor.
LIZA
What about you?
JERRY
Get up there and we'll get it back
down here for me. Now.
Liza thinks a beat, then nods and climbs inside.
JONAS
Jerry, you continually amaze me.
Jerry and Liza freeze. The voice is close. Liza starts
to climb out, but Jerry holds her back, whispers.
JERRY
Geronimo.
He shoves her back, hauls down on the chain. The
dumbwaiter starts up.
LIZA
Geronimo is down.
JERRY
It's up. Love gives you wings.
You can fly away from here.
LIZA
Don't do this.
Jerry hauls down again. Liza disappears from view. He
clutches his side in pain. Then he hauls again.
DEAD END HALLWAY
CLEETS #3 and #4 advance.
DUMBWAITER
jerking upwards. Liza despairing.
LIZA
Jerry!
ALCOVE
Jerry hauls harder. Faster. Hand over fist. Determined
to get Liza out of there.
JERRY
Too good to be true. Last thing I
do. Like life pounding eggs.
Up, up, up, the dumbwaiter goes. Finally, it won't go
any further. It's out of sight.
DEAD END HALLWAY
CLEETs #3 and #4 move up.
DUMBWAITER
The door won't budge. Liza leans back, FIRES a ROUND at
where she guesses the lock should be. She throws the
door up. The 4th floor. As she squeezes out...
ALCOVE
Jerry holds the chain with one hand, FIRES through it
with the 9MM. A tug and 60 feet of chain spools down at
his feet. Liza's away.
As Jerry smiles, CLEETs #3 and #4 appear behind him, each
FIRING once into his back.
4TH FLOOR - LIZA
Reacting to the shots. Appalled at what must be
happening.
LIZA
Jerry!
ALCOVE
Jerry hears her call, closes his eyes.
JERRY
Liza...
Jerry drops his gun, corkscrews down into a broken heap.
His eyes flutter up as Jonas looms over him.
JONAS
A patient man can accomplish
anything.
4TH FLOOR - LIZA
Liza runs.
DEAD END HALLWAY
CLEETs #3 and #4 turn as Lowry and Flip approach. As
they head down to the end of the hall, Jerry's eyes
flicker to the 9MM. As his hand inches that way...
STAIRWELL
Liza runs, possessed. Only this time she's running to
something and not away. She stumbles, slams into the
wall at the landing, continues.
DEAD END HALLWAY
Jonas starts back for Jerry, stops short as he sees him,
still on the ground, pointing the 9MM at him. CLICK.
Jerry's out of ammo. Jonas continues toward him.
1ST FLOOR HALLWAY
Liza comes off the stairwell. Runs.
CONNECTING HALLWAY
CLEET #3 goes down, SHOT by Lowry. #4 makes a dash for
it, is pursued by Flip.
DEAD END HALLWAY
Jerry, spitting blood, waits as Jonas calmly sets the
barrel of his gun against Jerry's forehead. The coup de
grace is imminent. Jerry's ready for it.
LIZA
Lungs ready to burst. She hurdles #3's body, turns the
corner, screaming as she raises her father's gun.
LIZA
No!
Jonas looks back over his shoulder just in time for a
bullet to drill his forehead above his left eye. He's
dead before he hits the ground.
And Liza is at Jerry's side. One look and she knows it
isn't good.
LIZA
Help! Somebody help me!
He just looks up at her as she cradles his head.
LIZA
Don't die on me, Jerry. Okay?
JERRY
I can't promise you anything.
She cries at the allusion, takes his hand.
LIZA
You've been my best friend for
years and I didn't even know you
were out there.
JERRY
Top pocket... Go on.
Liza reaches in, pulls out one of the "new" $100 bills.
It's bloodstained.
JERRY
Remember when you gave me that? A
hundred dollar bill to get lost?
(re: bill)
That's it. My lucky charm.
As a tear rolls down Liza's cheek...
JERRY
They changed Franklin's portrait.
LIZA
You think it's a conspiracy?
JERRY
Don't know, but he looks a lot
more like Rosie O'Donnel than Ben
Franklin.
Liza looks at the bill a moment, shakes her head, then:
LIZA
Fred Mertz. It's Fred Mertz.
Jerry smiles. Liza smiles back. Then:
JERRY
(almost apologetic)
I don't know why I love you. But
I know that I do.
Liza lowers her head, her heart stripped bare.
LIZA
I love you, too.
JERRY
(a sigh)
Now she tells me.
Overwhelmed, Jerry squeezes his eyes shut. Liza turns
back as Agent Lowry appears.
LIZA
(desolate)
Help him. Please.
EXT. HOSPITAL - AMBULANCE - DAWN
A madhouse. Police arriving in droves. Jerry in the
back of the ambulance. Liza watches, horrified, as his
body jerks as they defibrillate him. The back doors
close.
LIZA
Wait! Wait for me.
She's restrained by Flip and Agent Lowry, tries to fight
past them as the ambulance pulls away.
Overwhelmed, Liza collapses. As they hold her up...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
A beautiful day. Maybe not a bad place to end up after
all. We COME UPON a particular stone, freshly turned
earth on the grave. Jerry Fletcher. He didn't make it.
Liza stands here all alone. Paying her last respects.
LIZA
(softly)
You got away, Jerry. They'll
never find you now.
Her eyes well up with tears. Liza fights it off.
LIZA
(deep breath)
Get a hold of yourself, baby.
One last moment and then she turns and walks away. As
she moves, the sound of FOOTSTEPS. On the FLOOR.
CUT TO:
INT. STERILE HALLWAY (SOMEWHERE) - DAY
Agent Lowry strides down the hall, full of purpose. At
an intersection, he's joined by Flip. The two of them
continue, without speaking, to a door. They enter.
INT. STERILE ROOM (SOMEWHERE) - DAY
His chest bandaged, tubes running in and out, Jerry looks
up as Lowry and Flip enter. He's weak, but very much
alive. They look at him. He looks back as defiantly as
his situation will allow.
JERRY
Flip. Howard Hughes gave you your
legs back.
Flip doesn't even crack a smile.
LOWRY
You made your decision yet?
JERRY
I'm leaning toward no.
LOWRY
That's your option. Ours could be
to keep you locked up for a very
long time. In case you didn't
know it, you're crazy.
FLIP
Not to mention the fact that
everyone thinks you're dead.
LOWRY
We need you. We need what you
know. To bring these guys down.
Believe it or not, we're on the
same side.
(as Jerry scoffs)
One thing's for sure. You don't
have a choice.
Jerry stares back. That may be the truth.
JERRY
I'll do it. On one condition. I
want to make sure she's okay.
LOWRY
We got someone watching her 24
hours a day. She --
JERRY
That's not what I mean. I want to
see her.
LOWRY
I don't know...
JERRY
Then screw you. I'll rot.
LOWRY
Alright. You can see her.
(as Jerry smiles)
But she can't see you.
JERRY
Whatever.
Lowry and Flip turn to leave.
JERRY
Flip.
(as Flip looks back)
You're the closest thing I got to
a friend around here. Tell me
something. You think I'm crazy?
FLIP
Shut the hell up.
EXT. OX RIDGE HUNT CLUB (CONNECTICUT) - DAY
Pastoral to say the least. Liza steps from her BMW,
leans against the fence and watches as three lO-year-old
girls on horses receive a riding lesson.
INT. OX RIDGE HUNT CLUB - BARN - DAY
Liza moves along the well-maintained stalls. One
particular HORSE WHINNIES excitedly as she approaches.
Liza stops to look him over.
LIZA
J.D., I'm back. If you'll have
me.
He WHINNIES, stomps a hoof. Liza hugs him around the
neck.
LIZA
Johnny...
The horse has to be the fabled Johnny Dancer. Their
moment is broken up by a rough-looking GROOM.
GROOM
Can I help you with something?
LIZA
You got a saddle around here?
This is my horse.
GROOM
I've never seen you here before.
Liza reaches into her jeans pocket, pulls out her
trademark denomination: a $100 bill. But something
hesitates inside her. She rubs her thumb over Franklin:
Rosie O'Donnel or Fred Mertz? She pockets the bill,
looks up.
LIZA
Could you help me out? Please.
GROOM
(a beat; softens)
I think I can find a saddle for
that horse.
EXT. ROAD - SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
Pulled off the road. A view to the farm.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
Jerry sits with Lowry and Flip, scans with binoculars.
JERRY
I see her car, but -- Oh...
BINOCULAR POV - LIZA
Riding Johnny Dancer out into the ring. She canters back
and forth. Tentative at first, but gaining confidence.
INT. RIDING RING - DAY
Liza pulls up, eyes a fence.
LIZA
I must be crazy.
Deciding, she whispers something into Johnny's ear.
LIZA
Geronimo.
They're off at a gallop.
BINOCULAR POV - LIZA
Picking her spot, Liza guides Johnny up and over. Fluid.
A thing to behold.
INT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
Jerry, holding his breath, lets it out in a long sigh,
the sound of love. He smiles sadly, lowers the
binoculars.
JERRY
She's okay.
(to Lowry; grim)
Let's go.
EXT. SURVEILLANCE VAN - DAY
It rolls down the road. Destination unknown.
EXT. OX RIDGE HUNT CLUB - FIELD - DAY
Liza gallops out into the sun. Feeling it, remembering,
realizing just how much she missed this. But now she has
it again. A gift.
Head back, she holds her arms out in hope and faith, very
much like the painting on Jerry's Wonderwall.
FREEZE FRAME.
FADE OUT.
THE END
