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"Face/Off", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary Revised 9/10/96 FADE INTO: SEPIA-TONE FOOTAGE of a pig chasing a lion chasing a dinosaur chasing an elephant. Noah's Ark going round... and round... and round... EXT. GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL - DAY Disjointed CALLIOPE MUSIC as the wheel of fate and fortune goes around until we PULL BACK to reveal: JON ARCHER (30) rising winged Pegasus. On the adjacent unicorn is his son MATTHEW (5). Clutching a balloon, Matty waves at his dad. A happy moment, like so many certain to follow -- until we realize we are watching them THROUGH... SNIPER'S RIFLE SCOPE - SNIPER'S EYES wait until the child clears his aim -- Archer is the target. They round the bend and disappear... MATTHEW Loses his grip on the unicorn. Archer reaches over and pulls him into his lap. They happily ride together... As the horses sweep back INTO VIEW... exposing Archer... Now we see the sniper. CASTOR TROY is cool, efficient, aggressive, sexual. His finger closes around the trigger. BOOM! A BULLET RIPS into Archer's back. Bleeding... he drops off his horse... and sinks to the deck of the carousel. His eyes desperately searching... searching... searching... until he sees -- Matthew lies on his back -- still. Slowly, Archer reaches out and takes Matthew's hand... and now we see COLOR for the first time... Blood red... as bleeding father touches bleeding son... TILT UP TO the winged Pegasus flying by -- now in full color and UP UP UP TO Matthew's red balloon... floating away. HANDEL'S MESSIAH OVER a SERIES OF SHOTS: FBI BRIEFING ROOM Gazing out the window as dawn breaks over the city below is Jon Archer... older... unshaven... fatigued... his eyes reveal a man in the grip of obsession. CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by, as if marking time itself... HOLY PLACE Smoky, spiritual... dominated by a gleaming, golden cross. A priest kneels before it -- deep in prayer. The glimmering cross comes INTO FOCUS... but it's just a light-reflection... off the casing of a large bomb. This is no chapel... but an atrium. Somewhere. And as the "priest" rubs out his cigarette we see it's Castor Troy -- carefully installing this complex device. ANOTHER CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by... ARCHER pockets his FBI badge, then holsters his gun... CASTOR sets the bomb timer -- then replaces a wall panel in front of it. Totally hidden. BRIEFING ROOM - CASTOR'S MUGSHOT is on a computer screen. His criminal dossier scrolls by endlessly: bombings, assassinations, mercenary kidnappings, terrorism-for-hire... Rookie agent LOOMIS studies the details carefully. Other agents -- including BUZZ and WANDA scan computer grid- maps, man phones, etc. amid the take-out cartons and coffee cups. These people are on high alert. ARCHER Any follow-up from L.A.P.D. Intelligence? BUZZ No, sir, nothing yet. ARCHER Get them on the phone -- now. What about S.I.S. and our airport teams? WANDA We've had everything from psychics to satellites on this. Even if Castor was here... he must have slipped the net by now... ARCHER He's here! And we're going to keep looking until we find him! A silence descends on the chastised team. As they go back to work, veteran agent TITO BIONDI takes Archer aside. TITO Jon, these people have been working round the clock -- you gotta cut them some slack... Archer considers his best friend's advice -- then... ARCHER I'll cut them some slack when I cut myself some slack. Archer marches out -- slamming the door behind him. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY (MORNING) Castor quietly shuts the security door behind him. An Hispanic voice startles him. JANITOR What are you doing? CASTOR (in perfect Spanish) Thank goodness, I feel like Icarus in the labyrinth -- where's the men's room? JANITOR (in Spanish) This area is off limits, Padre. (re: security door) How did you get in that room? Realizing the JANITOR is already too suspicious, Castor puts a priestly arm around him -- and leads him down the hall. CASTOR Okay... I have a confession to make, but you aren't gonna like it. I was planting a bomb. JANITOR Bomb? CASTOR You know -- boom -- (patting his neck) Oh, never mind... The Janitor suddenly twitches, his eyes rolls up in his head. As he gasps his last -- Castor heaves him down a stairwell. Now we see the needle-thin custom stiletto in Castor's hand. Castor kicks the Janitor's mop and bucket down the stairs -- making everything look like an accident. INT. SAME BUILDING - MAIN FLOOR - DAY (MORNING) The children's church choir -- 200 strong -- sing "Behold the Lamb of God." Clergy and lay persons listen reverently. "Father" Castor strolls by the singers -- casually heading for the exit. As he passes the risers, a teenage girl drops her sheet music at his feet. Returning it -- he whispers in her ear -- so close he's practically licking it. CASTOR I've never enjoyed 'The Messiah.' But your voice makes even a hack like Handel seem like a genius. He pats her behind and leaves. Although a little shaken, she's also drawn by Castor's sexual magnetism. EXT. LA CONVENTION CENTER - DAY (MORNING) The marquee proclaims: INTERNATIONAL CHURCH CHOIRS 18th- 21st: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. Castor exits -- politely holding the door for a beat cop. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY (MORNING) The office is a monument to obsession: photographs, clues, newsclips, totems of Castor Troy surround a pacing Archer. ARCHER (on phone) ... I don't have time to get a warrant from some hung-over judge. Just give me the go-ahead, Victor, and I promise -- as soon as this is over -- you can brand my butt with the Fourth Amendment. The instant Archer hangs up -- the INTERCOM BUZZES. KIM (V.O.) Sir, your wife's on line one... S.I.S. on two... ARCHER Tell her to hang on -- As Archer punches up line two -- Tito bursts in. TITO A jet was chartered at Anderson Airfield. Guess who just showed up to pay for it? Pollux Troy. ARCHER Scramble the Reaction Team -- we're moving out. And get one of our people on that plane. TITO But there's still no sign of Castor... ARCHER Where one brother goes, the other's sure to follow... They rush our... the hold button on line 1 still blinking. EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING - DAY A sleek Cadillac pulls in... stopping next to a Land Rover. LARS MUELLER -- a muscular, crystal-eyed jar-head -- gets out of the Caddy. An instant later -- LUNT MUELLER -- emerges from the Rover. They are identical twins. The men scan the airport carefully, then open the rear doors of their respective vehicles. Castor emerges from the Caddy -- Armani clad. Exiting the Rover is Castor's younger brother POLLUX TROY -- skittish, brilliant, paranoid -- a human hummingbird. POLLUX You're 26 minutes late. The casing didn't fit -- right? I knew that cheap-shit Dietrich would rip us off... CASTOR Oh, God -- ! POLLUX What!? CASTOR I forgot to turn the damn thing on! POLLUX You're kidding, right? (to the twins) He's kidding... (grabs Castor by throat) ... are you fucking kidding!? Castor hugs Pollux lovingly. Pollux squirms like a kid. CASTOR Bro -- everything went fine. POLLUX I hate when you call me bro. Pollux heads for the jet. Castor hands Lunt a wad of cash. CASTOR Thanks for babysitting. LUNT Anything else? CASTOR I'll contact you when we get the rest of the money. (turns to leave) Oh, and stat away from downtown. The inversion layer's going to be pretty thick around the 18th. The twins nod... then take off. Castor heads for the jet. INT. JET - DAY Castor hustles in -- exhorting the PILOT. CASTOR Let's go, let's go! As the JET TURBINES start to WHINE, Castor sinks into his seat. A very sexy FLIGHT ATTENDANT appears and hands him a Scotch. He downs it, looking her over salaciously. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Would you like anything else? CASTOR Hell, yes... (pulls her into lap) It's the only way to fly. She smiles, not minding, until the jet suddenly slows its taxi down the runway. COCKPIT Castor yanks open the door. CASTOR What's wrong? AT END OF RUNWAY A squat car creeps INTO VIEW -- blocking the runway. EXT./INT. HUMVEE - MOVING - DAY Behind the wheel is Jon Archer. Beside him is Tito. BACK TO ARCHER CASTOR It's Archer. (gun to Pilot's head) Go, dammit! Suddenly the gun is BLASTED from Castor's hand. he turns around to see... the Flight Attendant behind them -- holding a smoking pistol. This is Agent WINTERS. WINTERS F.B.I.! Throttle down, captain! But Castor elbows the throttle up. The jet lurches forward, throwing Winters off balance. Pollux tackles her as the jet picks up speed. INT. HUMVEE - DAY Archer slams the vehicle into gear. ARCHER Get out. TITO You're not playing chicken with two tons of aluminum... ARCHER Get out! Tito obeys as Archer peels out. The HUMMER ROARS at the jet. The jet picks up speed, trying to get aloft. The humvee is aimed right at it... Archer's eyes narrow. COLLISION COURSE as two hunks of metal bear down. The machines are seconds apart when -- Archer looks up to see... Winters' face pressed up against the cockpit window, Castor holding a gun to her head. Archer cuts the wheel -- just avoiding the jet. The Hummer skids to a stop as Federal back-up arrives -- but too late. Archer watches an FBI chopper -- landing in a swirl of dust. As the jet picks up speed... the hatch opens. Castor blasts Winters in the side and tosses her onto the tarmac. INSIDE Castor smiles at Pollux, sensing freedom, until... KA-CHUNK: Something POUNDS the jet -- from above. Castor leans out the hatch and sees... The chopper on top of them -- Archer at the controls. Eye-contact -- years of hatred pass between these men. Castor BLASTS at him from the open hatch. The chopper's left windscreen spiderwebs. Archer jerks and weaves -- dodging the BULLETS. The chopper pulls away. The jet finally lifts off... when... The chopper settles on the jet -- slamming at its tail. TARMAC Tito reacts to this madness -- as the chopper plays a deadly game of leap-frog with the jet. The end of the runway is coming up fast. Archer crushes the jet's horizontal elevator flap. JET PILOT can't budge the jet's jammed yoke. Thwarted, he powers back the throttle. Thrust reverse. CASTOR What are you doing? PILOT The horizontal elevator's smashed! We can't lift off! CASTOR SHOOTS the Pilot -- then takes the controls. He struggles to maneuver the jet. Suddenly... A biplane descends right at them -- about to land. ARCHER pulls up just as the JET swerves radically to avoid the biplane and SLAMS into the hangar. JET plows through the GLASS DOOR, the NOSE-WHEEL SNAPS off. The PLANE SKIDS right into the hangar -- finally stopping at the wings. FBI CHOPPER lands. Archer steps out calmly -- like a cop about to write a traffic ticket. He hurries to join more FBI agents rushing into the hangar ahead of him. INT. HANGAR - DAY The jet hatch pops open -- Castor leaps from it, FIRING. Two FBI agents drop -- riddled. Pollux appears at the hatch -- an FBI sharpshooter FIRES, grazing Pollux's shoulder. Staggered, Pollux falls -- Castor catches him before he hits the floor -- simultaneously BLASTING the sharpshooter. Castor drags Pollux back into the smoke-filled hangar. Archer arrives and quickly checks the dead agents, his anger building. He signals Tito and the others to spread out. DEEP IN HANGAR A maze of airplane debris and heavy machinery. Led by Archer, the FBI agents pick their way through it. ROOKIE LOOMIS snaps alert -- did he see something? Advancing carefully, he comes up on... Castor -- staunching Pollux's shoulder wound. Pollux sees the agent -- and FIRES. Loomis hits the floor -- his bleeding ear is shredded. Suddenly a forklift charges down on Castor and Pollux. Tito is at the wheel. Castor FIRES -- forcing Tito to dive off. The forklift careens on -- driving apart the brothers. The forklift upends a stack of heavy crates -- pinning Pollux. Castor tries to free his trapped brother. POLLUX Forget it -- Go! Go! He slaps his Glock into Pollux's hand. CASTOR Wherever they put you, I'll find a way to get you out... Pollux starts FIRING -- covering Castor as he runs through a tunnel which leads to an adjoining hangar. Suddenly Wanda presses her machine-pistol into Pollux's head. As Pollux raises his gun -- Tito grabs his hand. TITO -- not unless you want that 200 I.Q. splattered all over the floor. (as Archer approaches) We got him now, Jon. ARCHER That's what you always say. Seal it off. I'm going in. Archer moves away from the group and enters the tunnel. MUSIC as Archer and Castor begin their cat-and-mouse dance. Sensing Archer, Castor pauses by an old landing gear. He draws a fresh pistol from his ankle holster and moves on. Archer pauses at the landing gear... his own stealthy movements mirroring Castor's. Castor waits behind a stack of steel drums... his gaze trying to penetrate the darkness... He SNAPS his fingers. The sound ECHOES as he tries to draw Archer in. Archer reacts to the sound and SNAPS back -- answering the challenge. As the deadly beat between them continues -- BLAM BLAM BLAM! Archer spins away just as Castor OPENS FIRE from the gloom... one step ahead. INTERCUT as necessary: CASTOR Jon, I'm getting a little annoyed by your obsessive need to spoil my fun. ARCHER And how much will your 'fun' net you this time? BOOM BOOM BOOM! Half-blind SHOTS send Castor spinning. A moment later, Archer pursues... SNAP! He fits a new CLIP into his pistol. CASTOR What's it to you? I declare it. Here I am, back in the States for less than a week -- ARCHER You're under arrest. Incredibly, you still have the right to remain silent -- CASTOR I've got something going down on the eighteenth... it's gonna be worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaoh. I'll give it up -- but my brother and I have to walk. ARCHER No discussion -- no deals. CASTOR What're you gonna do with me locked up? You'll drive your wife and kid nuts! I bet your daughter is just about ripe by now. What's her name, Janie? Enraged, Archer steps boldly forward -- trying to draw his enemy out. Silence -- then Archer senses... Castor is behind him. He FIRES -- Archer dives away. The BARRAGE CONTINUES -- driving Archer back between two huge turbine engines. As Archer reloads, he stares at the control panel switches. Castor moves in for the kill when he hears a final SNAP- SNAP. Except it isn't a finger snap... it's two switches. VRRRROOOM! The TWIN ENGINES ROAR on! Unable to fight the churning tornado-force wind... Castor's blasted across the hangar... slamming hard into the far wall. The ENGINES STOP and Archer emerges -- joined by Tito. TITO Tell me he didn't get away again... Then Tito follows Archer's gaze to Castor's lifeless body. Still as death -- somehow his mocking smile survives. EXT. AIRPORT TARMAC - SUNSET Heavily-manacled, an extremely agitated Pollux is herded into a SWAT van by Buzz and Wanda. POLLUX Where's my brother?! I want to see my brother! The van takes off -- passing an imposing older man, flanked by two bodyguards. Bullying through the media, Assistant FBI Director VICTOR LAZARRO scans the devastation. Approaching Archer, he watches as Castor's body is loaded on the ambulance. A sheet covers Castor's lifeless face. LAZARRO The oversight committee would've roasted us for this one -- thank God it paid off. Damn fine work. ARCHER Real fine, Victor. Especially the casualties. Archer contemplates the slain agents -- their three bodies laid out in a row -- waiting to be zip-locked. Lazarro reacts grimly as a reporter snaps a photo of the bodies. Instinctively, the two men close ranks. Archer grabs the Nikon, ejects the film, then shoves the camera back. LAZARRO Classified information. No photographs. Lazarro puts a caring arm around Archer's shoulder and leads him away from the media... and the carnage. LAZARRO You okay, Jon? (off Archer's nod) Then go home. Tell Eve. EXT. ARCHER'S HOME (SANTA MONICA) - SUNSET A renovated Craftsman. Sipping a carton of milk, Archer pulls into the driveway. He sits, gathering his thoughts. INT. ARCHER'S HOME - NIGHT Archer enters and sees his wife EVE. Handsome, intelligent. ARCHER Hi... (no response) ... What's wrong? She nods toward the KITCHEN. JAMIE is there -- a sullen and hard fifteen-year-old. There are cigarette cartons on the table. EVE She complimented for her 'F' in history with an 'A' in shoplifting... Archer marches into the kitchen -- noting the crate of Marlboros. Jamie matter-of-factly pours herself coffee. ARCHER Nice stunt, Jamie. You break the law and I'm expected to ignore it? JAMIE That's right -- it's all about you. Don't even ask me what happened. Archer looks to Eve for help. Eve shakes her head -- nope. ARCHER Okay. What happened? JAMIE Like you'd ever fucking believe me! She bolts. In anticipation, Eve calmly opens the door as Jamie rushes out, then closes it behind her. EVE Well, you tried. You failed miserably, but you tried. ARCHER Why won't she even talk to me? EVE Maybe because you taught her never to speak to strangers. (immediately regrets it) I'm sorry... that wasn't fair. Eve kisses his cheek -- then gathers up her doctor gear. EVE I've got patients waiting. Try again, Jon. She hates you -- but she needs you. ARCHER Eve... Something in Archer's expression makes her stop. EVE Jon -- what is it? But he's too overcome. He starts to speak -- but can't. EVE Is it -- him? It's... it's over? Emotions avalanche across his face until he finally looks up. Eve pulls him close -- a sheltering embrace for them both. ARCHER I'm going to make everything up to you and Jamie. I'll put in for a desk job. We'll go away, get counseling -- anything you want. This time, I mean it. INT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Freshly dressed, Archer heads down the hall. He pauses at the door to Jamie's room when he sees -- Jamie. Fully clothed, she's fast asleep on her bed cluttered with clothes and assorted girl-stuff. Her face peaceful. Archer looks around her room... sees the stuffed animals collecting dust... replaced by makeup, jewelry, beefcake Calvin Klein ads and band posters, etc. Archer's startled to see a lacey bustier... his little girl is growing up fast. And he's missing it. He pulls the blanket up over her and quietly slips out. The instant he leaves, Jamie kicks the blankets off. INT. FBI BUILDING - DAY Dominated by the FBI seal. Archer steps to the check point. SECURITY GUARD Print, please. Archer presses his thumb to a scan-pad -- and is cleared. INT. BULL PEN - DAY Efficient as a beehive -- agents, cryptologists, support staff buzz at their routines. Archer strides through -- drawing congratulatory nods and "thumbs up" signs... OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE Archer's team is there. Applauding. Proud. Uneasy with plaudits, he disperses the disappointed agents. ARCHER Much appreciated. Now let's get back to work, okay? WANDA (to Buzz) Is that stick ever gonna fall out of his ass? Archer's well-built secretary -- KIM BREWSTER -- hands him his messages. She's holding a bottle of Dom Perignon. KIMBERLY The C.I.A. sent this over. What should I do with it? ARCHER Send it back and tell them to stop wasting the taxpayers' money. Anything else, Miss Brewster? KIMBERLY No, sir. He enters his office. Kimberly sighs and turns to Wanda. KIMBERLY Four years -- and he still calls me 'Miss Brewster.' INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Sitting at his computer -- Archer scrolls through Castor's file. He grimly contemplates face-after-face of Troy's victims -- finally pausing on a photo of his son Matthew. Burying his feeling, he types "CASE CLOSED" over Castor's image. Archer starts to press "enter" when Tito comes in. ARCHER How's Loomis? TITO He needs some surgery, but he's going to be okay. That's the good news... ARCHER Go on. TITO ... Brodie and Miller from Special Ops need to see you. ARCHER I don't have time for those cloak and dagger guys. Big NED BRODIE and athletic female HOLLIS MILLER stroll in. BRODIE You better make time, Jon. (hefts a disc) We found this in the jet wreckage -- among Pollux Troy's effects... Archer accedes as Miller pops in the disk. The computer screen displays a CAD schematic of the bomb. Archer studies it carefully -- unease growing. ARCHER Porcelain casing... Thermal cloak... Undetectable payload. MILLER Powerful enough to flatten ten city blocks. ARCHER 'Worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaohs.' (to Tito) Get Pollux Troy. Now. DISSOLVE TO: INTERROGATION FOOTAGE Wired to a complex machine -- Pollux seems to have his frustrated interrogators on the run. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Archer, Lazarro, Tito, Brodie, Miller and other FBI officials watch the monitor. Pollux remains implacable POLLUX (V.O.) (on screen) That bomb was just a crossword puzzle to me... a mental exercise. I never built it... Lazarro shuts down the monitor... turns to Archer. ARCHER He's lying. LAZARRO He's hooked up to a full-spectrum polygraph. ARCHER Pollux is a manipulative psychopath. He can control his heartbeat, his sweat glands, his blood pressure... LAZARRO Jon, I trust your instincts, I always have. But D.C. wants more evidence. And frankly, so do I. ARCHER You'll get all the evidence you need when ten thousand people die. LAZARRO We'll get a team right on it. But we can't evacuate the city on what amounts to a hunch. Archer looks at the gathered brass. He knows it's hopeless. ARCHER That bomb has been built, it's out there somewhere and it's going to detonate... EXT. FBI BUILDING - INTELLIGENCE MEMORIAL - DAY Words etched in the granite wall read: IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY Archer watches as a workman engraves the last of the three new stars among so many others -- each one honoring the dead. BRODIE Didn't Castor give any clue where the bomb might be? ARCHER Only one person knows -- his brother Pollux. And he'll keep his mouth shut until it blows. BRODIE We could plant an agent in his cell -- get him to spill the location. ARCHER Pollux is way too paranoid. The only person he'd talk to about that bomb is Castor himself. And dead men can't talk. Brodie and Miller exchange a knowing look. BRODIE There might be a way around that... FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S BODY Tubes and hoses are plugged into every orifice. INT. ICU ROOM - DAY Archer stares at the body... he can't believe it. ARCHER Why are you keeping him alive? (gets no answer) As long as he's breathing, he's dangerous. MILLER Relax, he's a turnip. Miller grinds out her cigarette on Castor's leg. Of course, Castor just lies there like a vegetable. BRODIE We can arrange for you to enter Erewhon Prison -- as Castor Troy. ARCHER What are you talking about? Archer turns as DR. MALCOLM HOAG (50s) enters the room. HOAG I think I'd better answer that question. (offers hand) Malcolm Hoag. I run the Physiological Camouflage Unit for Special Ops. ARCHER I know who you are. MILLER But you don't know what he can do. Physical augmentation; enhancement surgery... BRODIE ... He can disguise a compromised agent or alter the likeness -- even the voice -- of a government witness. HOAG Let me show you how it's done. (leading him out) I think you'll recognize our patient... INT. HOAG'S SURGICAL BAY - DAY Loomis lies still as a surgeon carefully scrapes away charred flesh around his burned ear. The doctor turns to a -- STEREO-LITHOGRAPHIC MACHINE Laser-beams attack an organic soup with incredible precision. The light forces a chemical reaction -- and out of the soup -- an ear begins to form. It rises from the liquid, now fully-formed. The surgeon takes the ear and fits it in place on Loomis's head. He starts suturing. OBSERVATION BOOTH - ABOVE Archer, Hoag, Brodie and Miller watch the operation -- video-enhanced by the two huge screens on the far walls. HOAG With our new generation of anti- inflammatories, healing is accelerated from weeks to days. By his next paycheck, he won't even remember which ear he lost. (a beat) Your situation, however, would be a little less permanent... BRODIE -- and a lot more classified. Hoag holds up a face-sized organic shell made up of yellow cartilage pieces and tendons, etc. Archer pulls it over his face -- like a gauze mask. A "tendon" falls off. ARCHER This'll fool Pollux. HOAG That is a state-of-the-art morpho- genetic template. The inside can be built to match the exact shape of your skull; the outside -- exactly like Castor's. Then we fit his face right on top -- MILLER -- and you become him. ARCHER You're talking about removing the guy's face? BRODIE Borrowing, Jon. The procedure's completely reversible. MILLER One way or the other -- the mission ends on the eighteenth. Archer turns the shell over and over and over in his hands. BRODIE You know Castor better than anyone. You've lived and breathed him for years -- hell, you even look a little like him. Archer shoves the template back at Hoag. ARCHER Find yourself another lab-rat. MILLER If you don't do this -- Castor will beat us again. He'll beat you again... Archer pushes his way past them -- and marches out. HOAG I don't think that went very well. BRODIE Trust us, Doc... MILLER ... he'll jerk around. Then he'll be back. INT. INTERROGATION BOOTHS - DAY Archer enters... sizes up DIETRICH HASSLER. His stylish garb doesn't completely hide his criminal roots. Archer sits down calmly. He looks at his watch. ARCHER I'm in a hurry, Dietrich. So you've only got ten seconds to go through your usual litany of lies, empty threats, and moronic denials. Then I'm coming over there -- DIETRICH If you're in such a fucking hurry -- why are you wasting your time with me? I'm just an art dealer. ARCHER You're a dealer, all right: technical secrets, munitions... explosives. DIETRICH You've never proven any of that. And when my bitchy, never-been- laid femi-nazi lawyer gets here, she's going to... ARCHER Time's up. Archer topples the wooden table and tears a leg from the top. Brandishing it -- he stalks the startled thug. HALLWAY JUST OUTSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Lazarro blanches as an obsessed Archer repeatedly slams the table leg against the wall -- above Dietrich's head. LAZARRO The only ticking bomb I see is inside his head. He's getting worse, Tito. TITO Don't worry, sir. It's all an act... But as Lazarro leaves -- we see Tito's worried, too. BACK INSIDE BOOTH Archer has a terrified Dietrich backed into the corner. DIETRICH ... Okay! Castor called me but I blew him off... I swear I never saw him. And I don't know anything about any bomb! INT. CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE INTERROGATION BOOTHS - SAME TIME Archer emerges... eyes blazing. ARCHER Let him go, but I want him watched... Who's next? TITO Just Dietrich's sister... In another booth, a careworn but striking woman sits with a little boy on her lap. She gently helps him Crayola a book. This is SASHA HASSLER (30) and her son ADAM (5). INT. INTERROGATION BOOTH - DAY Archer hovers over Sasha -- her maternal warmth replaced by an icy hatred. Tito and the child are gone. ARCHER When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? SASHA Who cares? He's dead. ARCHER Answer the question. SASHA Look, I'm clean. I teach kids now -- ARCHER Sasha -- you are a felon, on probation for harboring Castor Troy. So it's in your best interest to cooperate. (as she's silent) Would you like your son put in a foster home? Sasha's eyes flash, her body coils -- but she keeps control. SASHA No, but I'm sure you'd love it -- you sick bastard. ARCHER (unmoved) When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? She stares at him with equal amounts of pity and hatred. SASHA I haven't seen him for years. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Archer watches as Adam leaves Dietrich and jumps into Sasha's arms. She hugs him protectively. Adam sees Archer watching them -- and smiles. Archer doesn't smile back. FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S REAL FACE PULL BACK TO: INT. I.C.U. - NIGHT Archer slowly circles Castor's muscular, hairy, tattooed body. Although on life support -- his signature smirk remains. ARCHER What about Lazarro? BRODIE No way -- the red tape alone would take a month. This is a black-bag operation -- completely off the books. MILLER If you need him, Tito can help you prepare. But you know the drill: You can't tell anyone -- not the Director, not your wife... nobody. Archer's face shows he doesn't like it -- then he nods. ARCHER I'm in. EXT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Archer slowly gets out of his car. Trudging toward the front door, he picks up a basketball and takes a shot. His form is terrible -- he misses by a mile. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Archer passes Jamie's room. Loud MUSIC POUNDS from within. He pauses to knock, thinks again, then heads down the hall. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Eve is in bed. Archer comes in quietly and sits beside her -- studying her peaceful, sleeping face. She stirs. EVE I was dreaming... ARCHER Something good? EVE I'm not sure... you were flying this(...TRUNCATED) | rear | How many times the word 'rear' appears in the text? | 1 |
"Face/Off", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary Revised 9/10/96 FADE INTO: SEPIA-TONE FOOTAGE of a pig chasing a lion chasing a dinosaur chasing an elephant. Noah's Ark going round... and round... and round... EXT. GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL - DAY Disjointed CALLIOPE MUSIC as the wheel of fate and fortune goes around until we PULL BACK to reveal: JON ARCHER (30) rising winged Pegasus. On the adjacent unicorn is his son MATTHEW (5). Clutching a balloon, Matty waves at his dad. A happy moment, like so many certain to follow -- until we realize we are watching them THROUGH... SNIPER'S RIFLE SCOPE - SNIPER'S EYES wait until the child clears his aim -- Archer is the target. They round the bend and disappear... MATTHEW Loses his grip on the unicorn. Archer reaches over and pulls him into his lap. They happily ride together... As the horses sweep back INTO VIEW... exposing Archer... Now we see the sniper. CASTOR TROY is cool, efficient, aggressive, sexual. His finger closes around the trigger. BOOM! A BULLET RIPS into Archer's back. Bleeding... he drops off his horse... and sinks to the deck of the carousel. His eyes desperately searching... searching... searching... until he sees -- Matthew lies on his back -- still. Slowly, Archer reaches out and takes Matthew's hand... and now we see COLOR for the first time... Blood red... as bleeding father touches bleeding son... TILT UP TO the winged Pegasus flying by -- now in full color and UP UP UP TO Matthew's red balloon... floating away. HANDEL'S MESSIAH OVER a SERIES OF SHOTS: FBI BRIEFING ROOM Gazing out the window as dawn breaks over the city below is Jon Archer... older... unshaven... fatigued... his eyes reveal a man in the grip of obsession. CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by, as if marking time itself... HOLY PLACE Smoky, spiritual... dominated by a gleaming, golden cross. A priest kneels before it -- deep in prayer. The glimmering cross comes INTO FOCUS... but it's just a light-reflection... off the casing of a large bomb. This is no chapel... but an atrium. Somewhere. And as the "priest" rubs out his cigarette we see it's Castor Troy -- carefully installing this complex device. ANOTHER CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by... ARCHER pockets his FBI badge, then holsters his gun... CASTOR sets the bomb timer -- then replaces a wall panel in front of it. Totally hidden. BRIEFING ROOM - CASTOR'S MUGSHOT is on a computer screen. His criminal dossier scrolls by endlessly: bombings, assassinations, mercenary kidnappings, terrorism-for-hire... Rookie agent LOOMIS studies the details carefully. Other agents -- including BUZZ and WANDA scan computer grid- maps, man phones, etc. amid the take-out cartons and coffee cups. These people are on high alert. ARCHER Any follow-up from L.A.P.D. Intelligence? BUZZ No, sir, nothing yet. ARCHER Get them on the phone -- now. What about S.I.S. and our airport teams? WANDA We've had everything from psychics to satellites on this. Even if Castor was here... he must have slipped the net by now... ARCHER He's here! And we're going to keep looking until we find him! A silence descends on the chastised team. As they go back to work, veteran agent TITO BIONDI takes Archer aside. TITO Jon, these people have been working round the clock -- you gotta cut them some slack... Archer considers his best friend's advice -- then... ARCHER I'll cut them some slack when I cut myself some slack. Archer marches out -- slamming the door behind him. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY (MORNING) Castor quietly shuts the security door behind him. An Hispanic voice startles him. JANITOR What are you doing? CASTOR (in perfect Spanish) Thank goodness, I feel like Icarus in the labyrinth -- where's the men's room? JANITOR (in Spanish) This area is off limits, Padre. (re: security door) How did you get in that room? Realizing the JANITOR is already too suspicious, Castor puts a priestly arm around him -- and leads him down the hall. CASTOR Okay... I have a confession to make, but you aren't gonna like it. I was planting a bomb. JANITOR Bomb? CASTOR You know -- boom -- (patting his neck) Oh, never mind... The Janitor suddenly twitches, his eyes rolls up in his head. As he gasps his last -- Castor heaves him down a stairwell. Now we see the needle-thin custom stiletto in Castor's hand. Castor kicks the Janitor's mop and bucket down the stairs -- making everything look like an accident. INT. SAME BUILDING - MAIN FLOOR - DAY (MORNING) The children's church choir -- 200 strong -- sing "Behold the Lamb of God." Clergy and lay persons listen reverently. "Father" Castor strolls by the singers -- casually heading for the exit. As he passes the risers, a teenage girl drops her sheet music at his feet. Returning it -- he whispers in her ear -- so close he's practically licking it. CASTOR I've never enjoyed 'The Messiah.' But your voice makes even a hack like Handel seem like a genius. He pats her behind and leaves. Although a little shaken, she's also drawn by Castor's sexual magnetism. EXT. LA CONVENTION CENTER - DAY (MORNING) The marquee proclaims: INTERNATIONAL CHURCH CHOIRS 18th- 21st: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. Castor exits -- politely holding the door for a beat cop. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY (MORNING) The office is a monument to obsession: photographs, clues, newsclips, totems of Castor Troy surround a pacing Archer. ARCHER (on phone) ... I don't have time to get a warrant from some hung-over judge. Just give me the go-ahead, Victor, and I promise -- as soon as this is over -- you can brand my butt with the Fourth Amendment. The instant Archer hangs up -- the INTERCOM BUZZES. KIM (V.O.) Sir, your wife's on line one... S.I.S. on two... ARCHER Tell her to hang on -- As Archer punches up line two -- Tito bursts in. TITO A jet was chartered at Anderson Airfield. Guess who just showed up to pay for it? Pollux Troy. ARCHER Scramble the Reaction Team -- we're moving out. And get one of our people on that plane. TITO But there's still no sign of Castor... ARCHER Where one brother goes, the other's sure to follow... They rush our... the hold button on line 1 still blinking. EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING - DAY A sleek Cadillac pulls in... stopping next to a Land Rover. LARS MUELLER -- a muscular, crystal-eyed jar-head -- gets out of the Caddy. An instant later -- LUNT MUELLER -- emerges from the Rover. They are identical twins. The men scan the airport carefully, then open the rear doors of their respective vehicles. Castor emerges from the Caddy -- Armani clad. Exiting the Rover is Castor's younger brother POLLUX TROY -- skittish, brilliant, paranoid -- a human hummingbird. POLLUX You're 26 minutes late. The casing didn't fit -- right? I knew that cheap-shit Dietrich would rip us off... CASTOR Oh, God -- ! POLLUX What!? CASTOR I forgot to turn the damn thing on! POLLUX You're kidding, right? (to the twins) He's kidding... (grabs Castor by throat) ... are you fucking kidding!? Castor hugs Pollux lovingly. Pollux squirms like a kid. CASTOR Bro -- everything went fine. POLLUX I hate when you call me bro. Pollux heads for the jet. Castor hands Lunt a wad of cash. CASTOR Thanks for babysitting. LUNT Anything else? CASTOR I'll contact you when we get the rest of the money. (turns to leave) Oh, and stat away from downtown. The inversion layer's going to be pretty thick around the 18th. The twins nod... then take off. Castor heads for the jet. INT. JET - DAY Castor hustles in -- exhorting the PILOT. CASTOR Let's go, let's go! As the JET TURBINES start to WHINE, Castor sinks into his seat. A very sexy FLIGHT ATTENDANT appears and hands him a Scotch. He downs it, looking her over salaciously. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Would you like anything else? CASTOR Hell, yes... (pulls her into lap) It's the only way to fly. She smiles, not minding, until the jet suddenly slows its taxi down the runway. COCKPIT Castor yanks open the door. CASTOR What's wrong? AT END OF RUNWAY A squat car creeps INTO VIEW -- blocking the runway. EXT./INT. HUMVEE - MOVING - DAY Behind the wheel is Jon Archer. Beside him is Tito. BACK TO ARCHER CASTOR It's Archer. (gun to Pilot's head) Go, dammit! Suddenly the gun is BLASTED from Castor's hand. he turns around to see... the Flight Attendant behind them -- holding a smoking pistol. This is Agent WINTERS. WINTERS F.B.I.! Throttle down, captain! But Castor elbows the throttle up. The jet lurches forward, throwing Winters off balance. Pollux tackles her as the jet picks up speed. INT. HUMVEE - DAY Archer slams the vehicle into gear. ARCHER Get out. TITO You're not playing chicken with two tons of aluminum... ARCHER Get out! Tito obeys as Archer peels out. The HUMMER ROARS at the jet. The jet picks up speed, trying to get aloft. The humvee is aimed right at it... Archer's eyes narrow. COLLISION COURSE as two hunks of metal bear down. The machines are seconds apart when -- Archer looks up to see... Winters' face pressed up against the cockpit window, Castor holding a gun to her head. Archer cuts the wheel -- just avoiding the jet. The Hummer skids to a stop as Federal back-up arrives -- but too late. Archer watches an FBI chopper -- landing in a swirl of dust. As the jet picks up speed... the hatch opens. Castor blasts Winters in the side and tosses her onto the tarmac. INSIDE Castor smiles at Pollux, sensing freedom, until... KA-CHUNK: Something POUNDS the jet -- from above. Castor leans out the hatch and sees... The chopper on top of them -- Archer at the controls. Eye-contact -- years of hatred pass between these men. Castor BLASTS at him from the open hatch. The chopper's left windscreen spiderwebs. Archer jerks and weaves -- dodging the BULLETS. The chopper pulls away. The jet finally lifts off... when... The chopper settles on the jet -- slamming at its tail. TARMAC Tito reacts to this madness -- as the chopper plays a deadly game of leap-frog with the jet. The end of the runway is coming up fast. Archer crushes the jet's horizontal elevator flap. JET PILOT can't budge the jet's jammed yoke. Thwarted, he powers back the throttle. Thrust reverse. CASTOR What are you doing? PILOT The horizontal elevator's smashed! We can't lift off! CASTOR SHOOTS the Pilot -- then takes the controls. He struggles to maneuver the jet. Suddenly... A biplane descends right at them -- about to land. ARCHER pulls up just as the JET swerves radically to avoid the biplane and SLAMS into the hangar. JET plows through the GLASS DOOR, the NOSE-WHEEL SNAPS off. The PLANE SKIDS right into the hangar -- finally stopping at the wings. FBI CHOPPER lands. Archer steps out calmly -- like a cop about to write a traffic ticket. He hurries to join more FBI agents rushing into the hangar ahead of him. INT. HANGAR - DAY The jet hatch pops open -- Castor leaps from it, FIRING. Two FBI agents drop -- riddled. Pollux appears at the hatch -- an FBI sharpshooter FIRES, grazing Pollux's shoulder. Staggered, Pollux falls -- Castor catches him before he hits the floor -- simultaneously BLASTING the sharpshooter. Castor drags Pollux back into the smoke-filled hangar. Archer arrives and quickly checks the dead agents, his anger building. He signals Tito and the others to spread out. DEEP IN HANGAR A maze of airplane debris and heavy machinery. Led by Archer, the FBI agents pick their way through it. ROOKIE LOOMIS snaps alert -- did he see something? Advancing carefully, he comes up on... Castor -- staunching Pollux's shoulder wound. Pollux sees the agent -- and FIRES. Loomis hits the floor -- his bleeding ear is shredded. Suddenly a forklift charges down on Castor and Pollux. Tito is at the wheel. Castor FIRES -- forcing Tito to dive off. The forklift careens on -- driving apart the brothers. The forklift upends a stack of heavy crates -- pinning Pollux. Castor tries to free his trapped brother. POLLUX Forget it -- Go! Go! He slaps his Glock into Pollux's hand. CASTOR Wherever they put you, I'll find a way to get you out... Pollux starts FIRING -- covering Castor as he runs through a tunnel which leads to an adjoining hangar. Suddenly Wanda presses her machine-pistol into Pollux's head. As Pollux raises his gun -- Tito grabs his hand. TITO -- not unless you want that 200 I.Q. splattered all over the floor. (as Archer approaches) We got him now, Jon. ARCHER That's what you always say. Seal it off. I'm going in. Archer moves away from the group and enters the tunnel. MUSIC as Archer and Castor begin their cat-and-mouse dance. Sensing Archer, Castor pauses by an old landing gear. He draws a fresh pistol from his ankle holster and moves on. Archer pauses at the landing gear... his own stealthy movements mirroring Castor's. Castor waits behind a stack of steel drums... his gaze trying to penetrate the darkness... He SNAPS his fingers. The sound ECHOES as he tries to draw Archer in. Archer reacts to the sound and SNAPS back -- answering the challenge. As the deadly beat between them continues -- BLAM BLAM BLAM! Archer spins away just as Castor OPENS FIRE from the gloom... one step ahead. INTERCUT as necessary: CASTOR Jon, I'm getting a little annoyed by your obsessive need to spoil my fun. ARCHER And how much will your 'fun' net you this time? BOOM BOOM BOOM! Half-blind SHOTS send Castor spinning. A moment later, Archer pursues... SNAP! He fits a new CLIP into his pistol. CASTOR What's it to you? I declare it. Here I am, back in the States for less than a week -- ARCHER You're under arrest. Incredibly, you still have the right to remain silent -- CASTOR I've got something going down on the eighteenth... it's gonna be worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaoh. I'll give it up -- but my brother and I have to walk. ARCHER No discussion -- no deals. CASTOR What're you gonna do with me locked up? You'll drive your wife and kid nuts! I bet your daughter is just about ripe by now. What's her name, Janie? Enraged, Archer steps boldly forward -- trying to draw his enemy out. Silence -- then Archer senses... Castor is behind him. He FIRES -- Archer dives away. The BARRAGE CONTINUES -- driving Archer back between two huge turbine engines. As Archer reloads, he stares at the control panel switches. Castor moves in for the kill when he hears a final SNAP- SNAP. Except it isn't a finger snap... it's two switches. VRRRROOOM! The TWIN ENGINES ROAR on! Unable to fight the churning tornado-force wind... Castor's blasted across the hangar... slamming hard into the far wall. The ENGINES STOP and Archer emerges -- joined by Tito. TITO Tell me he didn't get away again... Then Tito follows Archer's gaze to Castor's lifeless body. Still as death -- somehow his mocking smile survives. EXT. AIRPORT TARMAC - SUNSET Heavily-manacled, an extremely agitated Pollux is herded into a SWAT van by Buzz and Wanda. POLLUX Where's my brother?! I want to see my brother! The van takes off -- passing an imposing older man, flanked by two bodyguards. Bullying through the media, Assistant FBI Director VICTOR LAZARRO scans the devastation. Approaching Archer, he watches as Castor's body is loaded on the ambulance. A sheet covers Castor's lifeless face. LAZARRO The oversight committee would've roasted us for this one -- thank God it paid off. Damn fine work. ARCHER Real fine, Victor. Especially the casualties. Archer contemplates the slain agents -- their three bodies laid out in a row -- waiting to be zip-locked. Lazarro reacts grimly as a reporter snaps a photo of the bodies. Instinctively, the two men close ranks. Archer grabs the Nikon, ejects the film, then shoves the camera back. LAZARRO Classified information. No photographs. Lazarro puts a caring arm around Archer's shoulder and leads him away from the media... and the carnage. LAZARRO You okay, Jon? (off Archer's nod) Then go home. Tell Eve. EXT. ARCHER'S HOME (SANTA MONICA) - SUNSET A renovated Craftsman. Sipping a carton of milk, Archer pulls into the driveway. He sits, gathering his thoughts. INT. ARCHER'S HOME - NIGHT Archer enters and sees his wife EVE. Handsome, intelligent. ARCHER Hi... (no response) ... What's wrong? She nods toward the KITCHEN. JAMIE is there -- a sullen and hard fifteen-year-old. There are cigarette cartons on the table. EVE She complimented for her 'F' in history with an 'A' in shoplifting... Archer marches into the kitchen -- noting the crate of Marlboros. Jamie matter-of-factly pours herself coffee. ARCHER Nice stunt, Jamie. You break the law and I'm expected to ignore it? JAMIE That's right -- it's all about you. Don't even ask me what happened. Archer looks to Eve for help. Eve shakes her head -- nope. ARCHER Okay. What happened? JAMIE Like you'd ever fucking believe me! She bolts. In anticipation, Eve calmly opens the door as Jamie rushes out, then closes it behind her. EVE Well, you tried. You failed miserably, but you tried. ARCHER Why won't she even talk to me? EVE Maybe because you taught her never to speak to strangers. (immediately regrets it) I'm sorry... that wasn't fair. Eve kisses his cheek -- then gathers up her doctor gear. EVE I've got patients waiting. Try again, Jon. She hates you -- but she needs you. ARCHER Eve... Something in Archer's expression makes her stop. EVE Jon -- what is it? But he's too overcome. He starts to speak -- but can't. EVE Is it -- him? It's... it's over? Emotions avalanche across his face until he finally looks up. Eve pulls him close -- a sheltering embrace for them both. ARCHER I'm going to make everything up to you and Jamie. I'll put in for a desk job. We'll go away, get counseling -- anything you want. This time, I mean it. INT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Freshly dressed, Archer heads down the hall. He pauses at the door to Jamie's room when he sees -- Jamie. Fully clothed, she's fast asleep on her bed cluttered with clothes and assorted girl-stuff. Her face peaceful. Archer looks around her room... sees the stuffed animals collecting dust... replaced by makeup, jewelry, beefcake Calvin Klein ads and band posters, etc. Archer's startled to see a lacey bustier... his little girl is growing up fast. And he's missing it. He pulls the blanket up over her and quietly slips out. The instant he leaves, Jamie kicks the blankets off. INT. FBI BUILDING - DAY Dominated by the FBI seal. Archer steps to the check point. SECURITY GUARD Print, please. Archer presses his thumb to a scan-pad -- and is cleared. INT. BULL PEN - DAY Efficient as a beehive -- agents, cryptologists, support staff buzz at their routines. Archer strides through -- drawing congratulatory nods and "thumbs up" signs... OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE Archer's team is there. Applauding. Proud. Uneasy with plaudits, he disperses the disappointed agents. ARCHER Much appreciated. Now let's get back to work, okay? WANDA (to Buzz) Is that stick ever gonna fall out of his ass? Archer's well-built secretary -- KIM BREWSTER -- hands him his messages. She's holding a bottle of Dom Perignon. KIMBERLY The C.I.A. sent this over. What should I do with it? ARCHER Send it back and tell them to stop wasting the taxpayers' money. Anything else, Miss Brewster? KIMBERLY No, sir. He enters his office. Kimberly sighs and turns to Wanda. KIMBERLY Four years -- and he still calls me 'Miss Brewster.' INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Sitting at his computer -- Archer scrolls through Castor's file. He grimly contemplates face-after-face of Troy's victims -- finally pausing on a photo of his son Matthew. Burying his feeling, he types "CASE CLOSED" over Castor's image. Archer starts to press "enter" when Tito comes in. ARCHER How's Loomis? TITO He needs some surgery, but he's going to be okay. That's the good news... ARCHER Go on. TITO ... Brodie and Miller from Special Ops need to see you. ARCHER I don't have time for those cloak and dagger guys. Big NED BRODIE and athletic female HOLLIS MILLER stroll in. BRODIE You better make time, Jon. (hefts a disc) We found this in the jet wreckage -- among Pollux Troy's effects... Archer accedes as Miller pops in the disk. The computer screen displays a CAD schematic of the bomb. Archer studies it carefully -- unease growing. ARCHER Porcelain casing... Thermal cloak... Undetectable payload. MILLER Powerful enough to flatten ten city blocks. ARCHER 'Worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaohs.' (to Tito) Get Pollux Troy. Now. DISSOLVE TO: INTERROGATION FOOTAGE Wired to a complex machine -- Pollux seems to have his frustrated interrogators on the run. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Archer, Lazarro, Tito, Brodie, Miller and other FBI officials watch the monitor. Pollux remains implacable POLLUX (V.O.) (on screen) That bomb was just a crossword puzzle to me... a mental exercise. I never built it... Lazarro shuts down the monitor... turns to Archer. ARCHER He's lying. LAZARRO He's hooked up to a full-spectrum polygraph. ARCHER Pollux is a manipulative psychopath. He can control his heartbeat, his sweat glands, his blood pressure... LAZARRO Jon, I trust your instincts, I always have. But D.C. wants more evidence. And frankly, so do I. ARCHER You'll get all the evidence you need when ten thousand people die. LAZARRO We'll get a team right on it. But we can't evacuate the city on what amounts to a hunch. Archer looks at the gathered brass. He knows it's hopeless. ARCHER That bomb has been built, it's out there somewhere and it's going to detonate... EXT. FBI BUILDING - INTELLIGENCE MEMORIAL - DAY Words etched in the granite wall read: IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY Archer watches as a workman engraves the last of the three new stars among so many others -- each one honoring the dead. BRODIE Didn't Castor give any clue where the bomb might be? ARCHER Only one person knows -- his brother Pollux. And he'll keep his mouth shut until it blows. BRODIE We could plant an agent in his cell -- get him to spill the location. ARCHER Pollux is way too paranoid. The only person he'd talk to about that bomb is Castor himself. And dead men can't talk. Brodie and Miller exchange a knowing look. BRODIE There might be a way around that... FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S BODY Tubes and hoses are plugged into every orifice. INT. ICU ROOM - DAY Archer stares at the body... he can't believe it. ARCHER Why are you keeping him alive? (gets no answer) As long as he's breathing, he's dangerous. MILLER Relax, he's a turnip. Miller grinds out her cigarette on Castor's leg. Of course, Castor just lies there like a vegetable. BRODIE We can arrange for you to enter Erewhon Prison -- as Castor Troy. ARCHER What are you talking about? Archer turns as DR. MALCOLM HOAG (50s) enters the room. HOAG I think I'd better answer that question. (offers hand) Malcolm Hoag. I run the Physiological Camouflage Unit for Special Ops. ARCHER I know who you are. MILLER But you don't know what he can do. Physical augmentation; enhancement surgery... BRODIE ... He can disguise a compromised agent or alter the likeness -- even the voice -- of a government witness. HOAG Let me show you how it's done. (leading him out) I think you'll recognize our patient... INT. HOAG'S SURGICAL BAY - DAY Loomis lies still as a surgeon carefully scrapes away charred flesh around his burned ear. The doctor turns to a -- STEREO-LITHOGRAPHIC MACHINE Laser-beams attack an organic soup with incredible precision. The light forces a chemical reaction -- and out of the soup -- an ear begins to form. It rises from the liquid, now fully-formed. The surgeon takes the ear and fits it in place on Loomis's head. He starts suturing. OBSERVATION BOOTH - ABOVE Archer, Hoag, Brodie and Miller watch the operation -- video-enhanced by the two huge screens on the far walls. HOAG With our new generation of anti- inflammatories, healing is accelerated from weeks to days. By his next paycheck, he won't even remember which ear he lost. (a beat) Your situation, however, would be a little less permanent... BRODIE -- and a lot more classified. Hoag holds up a face-sized organic shell made up of yellow cartilage pieces and tendons, etc. Archer pulls it over his face -- like a gauze mask. A "tendon" falls off. ARCHER This'll fool Pollux. HOAG That is a state-of-the-art morpho- genetic template. The inside can be built to match the exact shape of your skull; the outside -- exactly like Castor's. Then we fit his face right on top -- MILLER -- and you become him. ARCHER You're talking about removing the guy's face? BRODIE Borrowing, Jon. The procedure's completely reversible. MILLER One way or the other -- the mission ends on the eighteenth. Archer turns the shell over and over and over in his hands. BRODIE You know Castor better than anyone. You've lived and breathed him for years -- hell, you even look a little like him. Archer shoves the template back at Hoag. ARCHER Find yourself another lab-rat. MILLER If you don't do this -- Castor will beat us again. He'll beat you again... Archer pushes his way past them -- and marches out. HOAG I don't think that went very well. BRODIE Trust us, Doc... MILLER ... he'll jerk around. Then he'll be back. INT. INTERROGATION BOOTHS - DAY Archer enters... sizes up DIETRICH HASSLER. His stylish garb doesn't completely hide his criminal roots. Archer sits down calmly. He looks at his watch. ARCHER I'm in a hurry, Dietrich. So you've only got ten seconds to go through your usual litany of lies, empty threats, and moronic denials. Then I'm coming over there -- DIETRICH If you're in such a fucking hurry -- why are you wasting your time with me? I'm just an art dealer. ARCHER You're a dealer, all right: technical secrets, munitions... explosives. DIETRICH You've never proven any of that. And when my bitchy, never-been- laid femi-nazi lawyer gets here, she's going to... ARCHER Time's up. Archer topples the wooden table and tears a leg from the top. Brandishing it -- he stalks the startled thug. HALLWAY JUST OUTSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Lazarro blanches as an obsessed Archer repeatedly slams the table leg against the wall -- above Dietrich's head. LAZARRO The only ticking bomb I see is inside his head. He's getting worse, Tito. TITO Don't worry, sir. It's all an act... But as Lazarro leaves -- we see Tito's worried, too. BACK INSIDE BOOTH Archer has a terrified Dietrich backed into the corner. DIETRICH ... Okay! Castor called me but I blew him off... I swear I never saw him. And I don't know anything about any bomb! INT. CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE INTERROGATION BOOTHS - SAME TIME Archer emerges... eyes blazing. ARCHER Let him go, but I want him watched... Who's next? TITO Just Dietrich's sister... In another booth, a careworn but striking woman sits with a little boy on her lap. She gently helps him Crayola a book. This is SASHA HASSLER (30) and her son ADAM (5). INT. INTERROGATION BOOTH - DAY Archer hovers over Sasha -- her maternal warmth replaced by an icy hatred. Tito and the child are gone. ARCHER When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? SASHA Who cares? He's dead. ARCHER Answer the question. SASHA Look, I'm clean. I teach kids now -- ARCHER Sasha -- you are a felon, on probation for harboring Castor Troy. So it's in your best interest to cooperate. (as she's silent) Would you like your son put in a foster home? Sasha's eyes flash, her body coils -- but she keeps control. SASHA No, but I'm sure you'd love it -- you sick bastard. ARCHER (unmoved) When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? She stares at him with equal amounts of pity and hatred. SASHA I haven't seen him for years. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Archer watches as Adam leaves Dietrich and jumps into Sasha's arms. She hugs him protectively. Adam sees Archer watching them -- and smiles. Archer doesn't smile back. FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S REAL FACE PULL BACK TO: INT. I.C.U. - NIGHT Archer slowly circles Castor's muscular, hairy, tattooed body. Although on life support -- his signature smirk remains. ARCHER What about Lazarro? BRODIE No way -- the red tape alone would take a month. This is a black-bag operation -- completely off the books. MILLER If you need him, Tito can help you prepare. But you know the drill: You can't tell anyone -- not the Director, not your wife... nobody. Archer's face shows he doesn't like it -- then he nods. ARCHER I'm in. EXT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Archer slowly gets out of his car. Trudging toward the front door, he picks up a basketball and takes a shot. His form is terrible -- he misses by a mile. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Archer passes Jamie's room. Loud MUSIC POUNDS from within. He pauses to knock, thinks again, then heads down the hall. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Eve is in bed. Archer comes in quietly and sits beside her -- studying her peaceful, sleeping face. She stirs. EVE I was dreaming... ARCHER Something good? EVE I'm not sure... you were flying this(...TRUNCATED) | concern | How many times the word 'concern' appears in the text? | 0 |
"Face/Off", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary Revised 9/10/96 FADE INTO: SEPIA-TONE FOOTAGE of a pig chasing a lion chasing a dinosaur chasing an elephant. Noah's Ark going round... and round... and round... EXT. GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL - DAY Disjointed CALLIOPE MUSIC as the wheel of fate and fortune goes around until we PULL BACK to reveal: JON ARCHER (30) rising winged Pegasus. On the adjacent unicorn is his son MATTHEW (5). Clutching a balloon, Matty waves at his dad. A happy moment, like so many certain to follow -- until we realize we are watching them THROUGH... SNIPER'S RIFLE SCOPE - SNIPER'S EYES wait until the child clears his aim -- Archer is the target. They round the bend and disappear... MATTHEW Loses his grip on the unicorn. Archer reaches over and pulls him into his lap. They happily ride together... As the horses sweep back INTO VIEW... exposing Archer... Now we see the sniper. CASTOR TROY is cool, efficient, aggressive, sexual. His finger closes around the trigger. BOOM! A BULLET RIPS into Archer's back. Bleeding... he drops off his horse... and sinks to the deck of the carousel. His eyes desperately searching... searching... searching... until he sees -- Matthew lies on his back -- still. Slowly, Archer reaches out and takes Matthew's hand... and now we see COLOR for the first time... Blood red... as bleeding father touches bleeding son... TILT UP TO the winged Pegasus flying by -- now in full color and UP UP UP TO Matthew's red balloon... floating away. HANDEL'S MESSIAH OVER a SERIES OF SHOTS: FBI BRIEFING ROOM Gazing out the window as dawn breaks over the city below is Jon Archer... older... unshaven... fatigued... his eyes reveal a man in the grip of obsession. CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by, as if marking time itself... HOLY PLACE Smoky, spiritual... dominated by a gleaming, golden cross. A priest kneels before it -- deep in prayer. The glimmering cross comes INTO FOCUS... but it's just a light-reflection... off the casing of a large bomb. This is no chapel... but an atrium. Somewhere. And as the "priest" rubs out his cigarette we see it's Castor Troy -- carefully installing this complex device. ANOTHER CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by... ARCHER pockets his FBI badge, then holsters his gun... CASTOR sets the bomb timer -- then replaces a wall panel in front of it. Totally hidden. BRIEFING ROOM - CASTOR'S MUGSHOT is on a computer screen. His criminal dossier scrolls by endlessly: bombings, assassinations, mercenary kidnappings, terrorism-for-hire... Rookie agent LOOMIS studies the details carefully. Other agents -- including BUZZ and WANDA scan computer grid- maps, man phones, etc. amid the take-out cartons and coffee cups. These people are on high alert. ARCHER Any follow-up from L.A.P.D. Intelligence? BUZZ No, sir, nothing yet. ARCHER Get them on the phone -- now. What about S.I.S. and our airport teams? WANDA We've had everything from psychics to satellites on this. Even if Castor was here... he must have slipped the net by now... ARCHER He's here! And we're going to keep looking until we find him! A silence descends on the chastised team. As they go back to work, veteran agent TITO BIONDI takes Archer aside. TITO Jon, these people have been working round the clock -- you gotta cut them some slack... Archer considers his best friend's advice -- then... ARCHER I'll cut them some slack when I cut myself some slack. Archer marches out -- slamming the door behind him. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY (MORNING) Castor quietly shuts the security door behind him. An Hispanic voice startles him. JANITOR What are you doing? CASTOR (in perfect Spanish) Thank goodness, I feel like Icarus in the labyrinth -- where's the men's room? JANITOR (in Spanish) This area is off limits, Padre. (re: security door) How did you get in that room? Realizing the JANITOR is already too suspicious, Castor puts a priestly arm around him -- and leads him down the hall. CASTOR Okay... I have a confession to make, but you aren't gonna like it. I was planting a bomb. JANITOR Bomb? CASTOR You know -- boom -- (patting his neck) Oh, never mind... The Janitor suddenly twitches, his eyes rolls up in his head. As he gasps his last -- Castor heaves him down a stairwell. Now we see the needle-thin custom stiletto in Castor's hand. Castor kicks the Janitor's mop and bucket down the stairs -- making everything look like an accident. INT. SAME BUILDING - MAIN FLOOR - DAY (MORNING) The children's church choir -- 200 strong -- sing "Behold the Lamb of God." Clergy and lay persons listen reverently. "Father" Castor strolls by the singers -- casually heading for the exit. As he passes the risers, a teenage girl drops her sheet music at his feet. Returning it -- he whispers in her ear -- so close he's practically licking it. CASTOR I've never enjoyed 'The Messiah.' But your voice makes even a hack like Handel seem like a genius. He pats her behind and leaves. Although a little shaken, she's also drawn by Castor's sexual magnetism. EXT. LA CONVENTION CENTER - DAY (MORNING) The marquee proclaims: INTERNATIONAL CHURCH CHOIRS 18th- 21st: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. Castor exits -- politely holding the door for a beat cop. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY (MORNING) The office is a monument to obsession: photographs, clues, newsclips, totems of Castor Troy surround a pacing Archer. ARCHER (on phone) ... I don't have time to get a warrant from some hung-over judge. Just give me the go-ahead, Victor, and I promise -- as soon as this is over -- you can brand my butt with the Fourth Amendment. The instant Archer hangs up -- the INTERCOM BUZZES. KIM (V.O.) Sir, your wife's on line one... S.I.S. on two... ARCHER Tell her to hang on -- As Archer punches up line two -- Tito bursts in. TITO A jet was chartered at Anderson Airfield. Guess who just showed up to pay for it? Pollux Troy. ARCHER Scramble the Reaction Team -- we're moving out. And get one of our people on that plane. TITO But there's still no sign of Castor... ARCHER Where one brother goes, the other's sure to follow... They rush our... the hold button on line 1 still blinking. EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING - DAY A sleek Cadillac pulls in... stopping next to a Land Rover. LARS MUELLER -- a muscular, crystal-eyed jar-head -- gets out of the Caddy. An instant later -- LUNT MUELLER -- emerges from the Rover. They are identical twins. The men scan the airport carefully, then open the rear doors of their respective vehicles. Castor emerges from the Caddy -- Armani clad. Exiting the Rover is Castor's younger brother POLLUX TROY -- skittish, brilliant, paranoid -- a human hummingbird. POLLUX You're 26 minutes late. The casing didn't fit -- right? I knew that cheap-shit Dietrich would rip us off... CASTOR Oh, God -- ! POLLUX What!? CASTOR I forgot to turn the damn thing on! POLLUX You're kidding, right? (to the twins) He's kidding... (grabs Castor by throat) ... are you fucking kidding!? Castor hugs Pollux lovingly. Pollux squirms like a kid. CASTOR Bro -- everything went fine. POLLUX I hate when you call me bro. Pollux heads for the jet. Castor hands Lunt a wad of cash. CASTOR Thanks for babysitting. LUNT Anything else? CASTOR I'll contact you when we get the rest of the money. (turns to leave) Oh, and stat away from downtown. The inversion layer's going to be pretty thick around the 18th. The twins nod... then take off. Castor heads for the jet. INT. JET - DAY Castor hustles in -- exhorting the PILOT. CASTOR Let's go, let's go! As the JET TURBINES start to WHINE, Castor sinks into his seat. A very sexy FLIGHT ATTENDANT appears and hands him a Scotch. He downs it, looking her over salaciously. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Would you like anything else? CASTOR Hell, yes... (pulls her into lap) It's the only way to fly. She smiles, not minding, until the jet suddenly slows its taxi down the runway. COCKPIT Castor yanks open the door. CASTOR What's wrong? AT END OF RUNWAY A squat car creeps INTO VIEW -- blocking the runway. EXT./INT. HUMVEE - MOVING - DAY Behind the wheel is Jon Archer. Beside him is Tito. BACK TO ARCHER CASTOR It's Archer. (gun to Pilot's head) Go, dammit! Suddenly the gun is BLASTED from Castor's hand. he turns around to see... the Flight Attendant behind them -- holding a smoking pistol. This is Agent WINTERS. WINTERS F.B.I.! Throttle down, captain! But Castor elbows the throttle up. The jet lurches forward, throwing Winters off balance. Pollux tackles her as the jet picks up speed. INT. HUMVEE - DAY Archer slams the vehicle into gear. ARCHER Get out. TITO You're not playing chicken with two tons of aluminum... ARCHER Get out! Tito obeys as Archer peels out. The HUMMER ROARS at the jet. The jet picks up speed, trying to get aloft. The humvee is aimed right at it... Archer's eyes narrow. COLLISION COURSE as two hunks of metal bear down. The machines are seconds apart when -- Archer looks up to see... Winters' face pressed up against the cockpit window, Castor holding a gun to her head. Archer cuts the wheel -- just avoiding the jet. The Hummer skids to a stop as Federal back-up arrives -- but too late. Archer watches an FBI chopper -- landing in a swirl of dust. As the jet picks up speed... the hatch opens. Castor blasts Winters in the side and tosses her onto the tarmac. INSIDE Castor smiles at Pollux, sensing freedom, until... KA-CHUNK: Something POUNDS the jet -- from above. Castor leans out the hatch and sees... The chopper on top of them -- Archer at the controls. Eye-contact -- years of hatred pass between these men. Castor BLASTS at him from the open hatch. The chopper's left windscreen spiderwebs. Archer jerks and weaves -- dodging the BULLETS. The chopper pulls away. The jet finally lifts off... when... The chopper settles on the jet -- slamming at its tail. TARMAC Tito reacts to this madness -- as the chopper plays a deadly game of leap-frog with the jet. The end of the runway is coming up fast. Archer crushes the jet's horizontal elevator flap. JET PILOT can't budge the jet's jammed yoke. Thwarted, he powers back the throttle. Thrust reverse. CASTOR What are you doing? PILOT The horizontal elevator's smashed! We can't lift off! CASTOR SHOOTS the Pilot -- then takes the controls. He struggles to maneuver the jet. Suddenly... A biplane descends right at them -- about to land. ARCHER pulls up just as the JET swerves radically to avoid the biplane and SLAMS into the hangar. JET plows through the GLASS DOOR, the NOSE-WHEEL SNAPS off. The PLANE SKIDS right into the hangar -- finally stopping at the wings. FBI CHOPPER lands. Archer steps out calmly -- like a cop about to write a traffic ticket. He hurries to join more FBI agents rushing into the hangar ahead of him. INT. HANGAR - DAY The jet hatch pops open -- Castor leaps from it, FIRING. Two FBI agents drop -- riddled. Pollux appears at the hatch -- an FBI sharpshooter FIRES, grazing Pollux's shoulder. Staggered, Pollux falls -- Castor catches him before he hits the floor -- simultaneously BLASTING the sharpshooter. Castor drags Pollux back into the smoke-filled hangar. Archer arrives and quickly checks the dead agents, his anger building. He signals Tito and the others to spread out. DEEP IN HANGAR A maze of airplane debris and heavy machinery. Led by Archer, the FBI agents pick their way through it. ROOKIE LOOMIS snaps alert -- did he see something? Advancing carefully, he comes up on... Castor -- staunching Pollux's shoulder wound. Pollux sees the agent -- and FIRES. Loomis hits the floor -- his bleeding ear is shredded. Suddenly a forklift charges down on Castor and Pollux. Tito is at the wheel. Castor FIRES -- forcing Tito to dive off. The forklift careens on -- driving apart the brothers. The forklift upends a stack of heavy crates -- pinning Pollux. Castor tries to free his trapped brother. POLLUX Forget it -- Go! Go! He slaps his Glock into Pollux's hand. CASTOR Wherever they put you, I'll find a way to get you out... Pollux starts FIRING -- covering Castor as he runs through a tunnel which leads to an adjoining hangar. Suddenly Wanda presses her machine-pistol into Pollux's head. As Pollux raises his gun -- Tito grabs his hand. TITO -- not unless you want that 200 I.Q. splattered all over the floor. (as Archer approaches) We got him now, Jon. ARCHER That's what you always say. Seal it off. I'm going in. Archer moves away from the group and enters the tunnel. MUSIC as Archer and Castor begin their cat-and-mouse dance. Sensing Archer, Castor pauses by an old landing gear. He draws a fresh pistol from his ankle holster and moves on. Archer pauses at the landing gear... his own stealthy movements mirroring Castor's. Castor waits behind a stack of steel drums... his gaze trying to penetrate the darkness... He SNAPS his fingers. The sound ECHOES as he tries to draw Archer in. Archer reacts to the sound and SNAPS back -- answering the challenge. As the deadly beat between them continues -- BLAM BLAM BLAM! Archer spins away just as Castor OPENS FIRE from the gloom... one step ahead. INTERCUT as necessary: CASTOR Jon, I'm getting a little annoyed by your obsessive need to spoil my fun. ARCHER And how much will your 'fun' net you this time? BOOM BOOM BOOM! Half-blind SHOTS send Castor spinning. A moment later, Archer pursues... SNAP! He fits a new CLIP into his pistol. CASTOR What's it to you? I declare it. Here I am, back in the States for less than a week -- ARCHER You're under arrest. Incredibly, you still have the right to remain silent -- CASTOR I've got something going down on the eighteenth... it's gonna be worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaoh. I'll give it up -- but my brother and I have to walk. ARCHER No discussion -- no deals. CASTOR What're you gonna do with me locked up? You'll drive your wife and kid nuts! I bet your daughter is just about ripe by now. What's her name, Janie? Enraged, Archer steps boldly forward -- trying to draw his enemy out. Silence -- then Archer senses... Castor is behind him. He FIRES -- Archer dives away. The BARRAGE CONTINUES -- driving Archer back between two huge turbine engines. As Archer reloads, he stares at the control panel switches. Castor moves in for the kill when he hears a final SNAP- SNAP. Except it isn't a finger snap... it's two switches. VRRRROOOM! The TWIN ENGINES ROAR on! Unable to fight the churning tornado-force wind... Castor's blasted across the hangar... slamming hard into the far wall. The ENGINES STOP and Archer emerges -- joined by Tito. TITO Tell me he didn't get away again... Then Tito follows Archer's gaze to Castor's lifeless body. Still as death -- somehow his mocking smile survives. EXT. AIRPORT TARMAC - SUNSET Heavily-manacled, an extremely agitated Pollux is herded into a SWAT van by Buzz and Wanda. POLLUX Where's my brother?! I want to see my brother! The van takes off -- passing an imposing older man, flanked by two bodyguards. Bullying through the media, Assistant FBI Director VICTOR LAZARRO scans the devastation. Approaching Archer, he watches as Castor's body is loaded on the ambulance. A sheet covers Castor's lifeless face. LAZARRO The oversight committee would've roasted us for this one -- thank God it paid off. Damn fine work. ARCHER Real fine, Victor. Especially the casualties. Archer contemplates the slain agents -- their three bodies laid out in a row -- waiting to be zip-locked. Lazarro reacts grimly as a reporter snaps a photo of the bodies. Instinctively, the two men close ranks. Archer grabs the Nikon, ejects the film, then shoves the camera back. LAZARRO Classified information. No photographs. Lazarro puts a caring arm around Archer's shoulder and leads him away from the media... and the carnage. LAZARRO You okay, Jon? (off Archer's nod) Then go home. Tell Eve. EXT. ARCHER'S HOME (SANTA MONICA) - SUNSET A renovated Craftsman. Sipping a carton of milk, Archer pulls into the driveway. He sits, gathering his thoughts. INT. ARCHER'S HOME - NIGHT Archer enters and sees his wife EVE. Handsome, intelligent. ARCHER Hi... (no response) ... What's wrong? She nods toward the KITCHEN. JAMIE is there -- a sullen and hard fifteen-year-old. There are cigarette cartons on the table. EVE She complimented for her 'F' in history with an 'A' in shoplifting... Archer marches into the kitchen -- noting the crate of Marlboros. Jamie matter-of-factly pours herself coffee. ARCHER Nice stunt, Jamie. You break the law and I'm expected to ignore it? JAMIE That's right -- it's all about you. Don't even ask me what happened. Archer looks to Eve for help. Eve shakes her head -- nope. ARCHER Okay. What happened? JAMIE Like you'd ever fucking believe me! She bolts. In anticipation, Eve calmly opens the door as Jamie rushes out, then closes it behind her. EVE Well, you tried. You failed miserably, but you tried. ARCHER Why won't she even talk to me? EVE Maybe because you taught her never to speak to strangers. (immediately regrets it) I'm sorry... that wasn't fair. Eve kisses his cheek -- then gathers up her doctor gear. EVE I've got patients waiting. Try again, Jon. She hates you -- but she needs you. ARCHER Eve... Something in Archer's expression makes her stop. EVE Jon -- what is it? But he's too overcome. He starts to speak -- but can't. EVE Is it -- him? It's... it's over? Emotions avalanche across his face until he finally looks up. Eve pulls him close -- a sheltering embrace for them both. ARCHER I'm going to make everything up to you and Jamie. I'll put in for a desk job. We'll go away, get counseling -- anything you want. This time, I mean it. INT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Freshly dressed, Archer heads down the hall. He pauses at the door to Jamie's room when he sees -- Jamie. Fully clothed, she's fast asleep on her bed cluttered with clothes and assorted girl-stuff. Her face peaceful. Archer looks around her room... sees the stuffed animals collecting dust... replaced by makeup, jewelry, beefcake Calvin Klein ads and band posters, etc. Archer's startled to see a lacey bustier... his little girl is growing up fast. And he's missing it. He pulls the blanket up over her and quietly slips out. The instant he leaves, Jamie kicks the blankets off. INT. FBI BUILDING - DAY Dominated by the FBI seal. Archer steps to the check point. SECURITY GUARD Print, please. Archer presses his thumb to a scan-pad -- and is cleared. INT. BULL PEN - DAY Efficient as a beehive -- agents, cryptologists, support staff buzz at their routines. Archer strides through -- drawing congratulatory nods and "thumbs up" signs... OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE Archer's team is there. Applauding. Proud. Uneasy with plaudits, he disperses the disappointed agents. ARCHER Much appreciated. Now let's get back to work, okay? WANDA (to Buzz) Is that stick ever gonna fall out of his ass? Archer's well-built secretary -- KIM BREWSTER -- hands him his messages. She's holding a bottle of Dom Perignon. KIMBERLY The C.I.A. sent this over. What should I do with it? ARCHER Send it back and tell them to stop wasting the taxpayers' money. Anything else, Miss Brewster? KIMBERLY No, sir. He enters his office. Kimberly sighs and turns to Wanda. KIMBERLY Four years -- and he still calls me 'Miss Brewster.' INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Sitting at his computer -- Archer scrolls through Castor's file. He grimly contemplates face-after-face of Troy's victims -- finally pausing on a photo of his son Matthew. Burying his feeling, he types "CASE CLOSED" over Castor's image. Archer starts to press "enter" when Tito comes in. ARCHER How's Loomis? TITO He needs some surgery, but he's going to be okay. That's the good news... ARCHER Go on. TITO ... Brodie and Miller from Special Ops need to see you. ARCHER I don't have time for those cloak and dagger guys. Big NED BRODIE and athletic female HOLLIS MILLER stroll in. BRODIE You better make time, Jon. (hefts a disc) We found this in the jet wreckage -- among Pollux Troy's effects... Archer accedes as Miller pops in the disk. The computer screen displays a CAD schematic of the bomb. Archer studies it carefully -- unease growing. ARCHER Porcelain casing... Thermal cloak... Undetectable payload. MILLER Powerful enough to flatten ten city blocks. ARCHER 'Worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaohs.' (to Tito) Get Pollux Troy. Now. DISSOLVE TO: INTERROGATION FOOTAGE Wired to a complex machine -- Pollux seems to have his frustrated interrogators on the run. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Archer, Lazarro, Tito, Brodie, Miller and other FBI officials watch the monitor. Pollux remains implacable POLLUX (V.O.) (on screen) That bomb was just a crossword puzzle to me... a mental exercise. I never built it... Lazarro shuts down the monitor... turns to Archer. ARCHER He's lying. LAZARRO He's hooked up to a full-spectrum polygraph. ARCHER Pollux is a manipulative psychopath. He can control his heartbeat, his sweat glands, his blood pressure... LAZARRO Jon, I trust your instincts, I always have. But D.C. wants more evidence. And frankly, so do I. ARCHER You'll get all the evidence you need when ten thousand people die. LAZARRO We'll get a team right on it. But we can't evacuate the city on what amounts to a hunch. Archer looks at the gathered brass. He knows it's hopeless. ARCHER That bomb has been built, it's out there somewhere and it's going to detonate... EXT. FBI BUILDING - INTELLIGENCE MEMORIAL - DAY Words etched in the granite wall read: IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY Archer watches as a workman engraves the last of the three new stars among so many others -- each one honoring the dead. BRODIE Didn't Castor give any clue where the bomb might be? ARCHER Only one person knows -- his brother Pollux. And he'll keep his mouth shut until it blows. BRODIE We could plant an agent in his cell -- get him to spill the location. ARCHER Pollux is way too paranoid. The only person he'd talk to about that bomb is Castor himself. And dead men can't talk. Brodie and Miller exchange a knowing look. BRODIE There might be a way around that... FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S BODY Tubes and hoses are plugged into every orifice. INT. ICU ROOM - DAY Archer stares at the body... he can't believe it. ARCHER Why are you keeping him alive? (gets no answer) As long as he's breathing, he's dangerous. MILLER Relax, he's a turnip. Miller grinds out her cigarette on Castor's leg. Of course, Castor just lies there like a vegetable. BRODIE We can arrange for you to enter Erewhon Prison -- as Castor Troy. ARCHER What are you talking about? Archer turns as DR. MALCOLM HOAG (50s) enters the room. HOAG I think I'd better answer that question. (offers hand) Malcolm Hoag. I run the Physiological Camouflage Unit for Special Ops. ARCHER I know who you are. MILLER But you don't know what he can do. Physical augmentation; enhancement surgery... BRODIE ... He can disguise a compromised agent or alter the likeness -- even the voice -- of a government witness. HOAG Let me show you how it's done. (leading him out) I think you'll recognize our patient... INT. HOAG'S SURGICAL BAY - DAY Loomis lies still as a surgeon carefully scrapes away charred flesh around his burned ear. The doctor turns to a -- STEREO-LITHOGRAPHIC MACHINE Laser-beams attack an organic soup with incredible precision. The light forces a chemical reaction -- and out of the soup -- an ear begins to form. It rises from the liquid, now fully-formed. The surgeon takes the ear and fits it in place on Loomis's head. He starts suturing. OBSERVATION BOOTH - ABOVE Archer, Hoag, Brodie and Miller watch the operation -- video-enhanced by the two huge screens on the far walls. HOAG With our new generation of anti- inflammatories, healing is accelerated from weeks to days. By his next paycheck, he won't even remember which ear he lost. (a beat) Your situation, however, would be a little less permanent... BRODIE -- and a lot more classified. Hoag holds up a face-sized organic shell made up of yellow cartilage pieces and tendons, etc. Archer pulls it over his face -- like a gauze mask. A "tendon" falls off. ARCHER This'll fool Pollux. HOAG That is a state-of-the-art morpho- genetic template. The inside can be built to match the exact shape of your skull; the outside -- exactly like Castor's. Then we fit his face right on top -- MILLER -- and you become him. ARCHER You're talking about removing the guy's face? BRODIE Borrowing, Jon. The procedure's completely reversible. MILLER One way or the other -- the mission ends on the eighteenth. Archer turns the shell over and over and over in his hands. BRODIE You know Castor better than anyone. You've lived and breathed him for years -- hell, you even look a little like him. Archer shoves the template back at Hoag. ARCHER Find yourself another lab-rat. MILLER If you don't do this -- Castor will beat us again. He'll beat you again... Archer pushes his way past them -- and marches out. HOAG I don't think that went very well. BRODIE Trust us, Doc... MILLER ... he'll jerk around. Then he'll be back. INT. INTERROGATION BOOTHS - DAY Archer enters... sizes up DIETRICH HASSLER. His stylish garb doesn't completely hide his criminal roots. Archer sits down calmly. He looks at his watch. ARCHER I'm in a hurry, Dietrich. So you've only got ten seconds to go through your usual litany of lies, empty threats, and moronic denials. Then I'm coming over there -- DIETRICH If you're in such a fucking hurry -- why are you wasting your time with me? I'm just an art dealer. ARCHER You're a dealer, all right: technical secrets, munitions... explosives. DIETRICH You've never proven any of that. And when my bitchy, never-been- laid femi-nazi lawyer gets here, she's going to... ARCHER Time's up. Archer topples the wooden table and tears a leg from the top. Brandishing it -- he stalks the startled thug. HALLWAY JUST OUTSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Lazarro blanches as an obsessed Archer repeatedly slams the table leg against the wall -- above Dietrich's head. LAZARRO The only ticking bomb I see is inside his head. He's getting worse, Tito. TITO Don't worry, sir. It's all an act... But as Lazarro leaves -- we see Tito's worried, too. BACK INSIDE BOOTH Archer has a terrified Dietrich backed into the corner. DIETRICH ... Okay! Castor called me but I blew him off... I swear I never saw him. And I don't know anything about any bomb! INT. CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE INTERROGATION BOOTHS - SAME TIME Archer emerges... eyes blazing. ARCHER Let him go, but I want him watched... Who's next? TITO Just Dietrich's sister... In another booth, a careworn but striking woman sits with a little boy on her lap. She gently helps him Crayola a book. This is SASHA HASSLER (30) and her son ADAM (5). INT. INTERROGATION BOOTH - DAY Archer hovers over Sasha -- her maternal warmth replaced by an icy hatred. Tito and the child are gone. ARCHER When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? SASHA Who cares? He's dead. ARCHER Answer the question. SASHA Look, I'm clean. I teach kids now -- ARCHER Sasha -- you are a felon, on probation for harboring Castor Troy. So it's in your best interest to cooperate. (as she's silent) Would you like your son put in a foster home? Sasha's eyes flash, her body coils -- but she keeps control. SASHA No, but I'm sure you'd love it -- you sick bastard. ARCHER (unmoved) When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? She stares at him with equal amounts of pity and hatred. SASHA I haven't seen him for years. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Archer watches as Adam leaves Dietrich and jumps into Sasha's arms. She hugs him protectively. Adam sees Archer watching them -- and smiles. Archer doesn't smile back. FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S REAL FACE PULL BACK TO: INT. I.C.U. - NIGHT Archer slowly circles Castor's muscular, hairy, tattooed body. Although on life support -- his signature smirk remains. ARCHER What about Lazarro? BRODIE No way -- the red tape alone would take a month. This is a black-bag operation -- completely off the books. MILLER If you need him, Tito can help you prepare. But you know the drill: You can't tell anyone -- not the Director, not your wife... nobody. Archer's face shows he doesn't like it -- then he nods. ARCHER I'm in. EXT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Archer slowly gets out of his car. Trudging toward the front door, he picks up a basketball and takes a shot. His form is terrible -- he misses by a mile. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Archer passes Jamie's room. Loud MUSIC POUNDS from within. He pauses to knock, thinks again, then heads down the hall. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Eve is in bed. Archer comes in quietly and sits beside her -- studying her peaceful, sleeping face. She stirs. EVE I was dreaming... ARCHER Something good? EVE I'm not sure... you were flying this(...TRUNCATED) | slide | How many times the word 'slide' appears in the text? | 0 |
"Face/Off", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary Revised 9/10/96 FADE INTO: SEPIA-TONE FOOTAGE of a pig chasing a lion chasing a dinosaur chasing an elephant. Noah's Ark going round... and round... and round... EXT. GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL - DAY Disjointed CALLIOPE MUSIC as the wheel of fate and fortune goes around until we PULL BACK to reveal: JON ARCHER (30) rising winged Pegasus. On the adjacent unicorn is his son MATTHEW (5). Clutching a balloon, Matty waves at his dad. A happy moment, like so many certain to follow -- until we realize we are watching them THROUGH... SNIPER'S RIFLE SCOPE - SNIPER'S EYES wait until the child clears his aim -- Archer is the target. They round the bend and disappear... MATTHEW Loses his grip on the unicorn. Archer reaches over and pulls him into his lap. They happily ride together... As the horses sweep back INTO VIEW... exposing Archer... Now we see the sniper. CASTOR TROY is cool, efficient, aggressive, sexual. His finger closes around the trigger. BOOM! A BULLET RIPS into Archer's back. Bleeding... he drops off his horse... and sinks to the deck of the carousel. His eyes desperately searching... searching... searching... until he sees -- Matthew lies on his back -- still. Slowly, Archer reaches out and takes Matthew's hand... and now we see COLOR for the first time... Blood red... as bleeding father touches bleeding son... TILT UP TO the winged Pegasus flying by -- now in full color and UP UP UP TO Matthew's red balloon... floating away. HANDEL'S MESSIAH OVER a SERIES OF SHOTS: FBI BRIEFING ROOM Gazing out the window as dawn breaks over the city below is Jon Archer... older... unshaven... fatigued... his eyes reveal a man in the grip of obsession. CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by, as if marking time itself... HOLY PLACE Smoky, spiritual... dominated by a gleaming, golden cross. A priest kneels before it -- deep in prayer. The glimmering cross comes INTO FOCUS... but it's just a light-reflection... off the casing of a large bomb. This is no chapel... but an atrium. Somewhere. And as the "priest" rubs out his cigarette we see it's Castor Troy -- carefully installing this complex device. ANOTHER CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by... ARCHER pockets his FBI badge, then holsters his gun... CASTOR sets the bomb timer -- then replaces a wall panel in front of it. Totally hidden. BRIEFING ROOM - CASTOR'S MUGSHOT is on a computer screen. His criminal dossier scrolls by endlessly: bombings, assassinations, mercenary kidnappings, terrorism-for-hire... Rookie agent LOOMIS studies the details carefully. Other agents -- including BUZZ and WANDA scan computer grid- maps, man phones, etc. amid the take-out cartons and coffee cups. These people are on high alert. ARCHER Any follow-up from L.A.P.D. Intelligence? BUZZ No, sir, nothing yet. ARCHER Get them on the phone -- now. What about S.I.S. and our airport teams? WANDA We've had everything from psychics to satellites on this. Even if Castor was here... he must have slipped the net by now... ARCHER He's here! And we're going to keep looking until we find him! A silence descends on the chastised team. As they go back to work, veteran agent TITO BIONDI takes Archer aside. TITO Jon, these people have been working round the clock -- you gotta cut them some slack... Archer considers his best friend's advice -- then... ARCHER I'll cut them some slack when I cut myself some slack. Archer marches out -- slamming the door behind him. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY (MORNING) Castor quietly shuts the security door behind him. An Hispanic voice startles him. JANITOR What are you doing? CASTOR (in perfect Spanish) Thank goodness, I feel like Icarus in the labyrinth -- where's the men's room? JANITOR (in Spanish) This area is off limits, Padre. (re: security door) How did you get in that room? Realizing the JANITOR is already too suspicious, Castor puts a priestly arm around him -- and leads him down the hall. CASTOR Okay... I have a confession to make, but you aren't gonna like it. I was planting a bomb. JANITOR Bomb? CASTOR You know -- boom -- (patting his neck) Oh, never mind... The Janitor suddenly twitches, his eyes rolls up in his head. As he gasps his last -- Castor heaves him down a stairwell. Now we see the needle-thin custom stiletto in Castor's hand. Castor kicks the Janitor's mop and bucket down the stairs -- making everything look like an accident. INT. SAME BUILDING - MAIN FLOOR - DAY (MORNING) The children's church choir -- 200 strong -- sing "Behold the Lamb of God." Clergy and lay persons listen reverently. "Father" Castor strolls by the singers -- casually heading for the exit. As he passes the risers, a teenage girl drops her sheet music at his feet. Returning it -- he whispers in her ear -- so close he's practically licking it. CASTOR I've never enjoyed 'The Messiah.' But your voice makes even a hack like Handel seem like a genius. He pats her behind and leaves. Although a little shaken, she's also drawn by Castor's sexual magnetism. EXT. LA CONVENTION CENTER - DAY (MORNING) The marquee proclaims: INTERNATIONAL CHURCH CHOIRS 18th- 21st: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. Castor exits -- politely holding the door for a beat cop. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY (MORNING) The office is a monument to obsession: photographs, clues, newsclips, totems of Castor Troy surround a pacing Archer. ARCHER (on phone) ... I don't have time to get a warrant from some hung-over judge. Just give me the go-ahead, Victor, and I promise -- as soon as this is over -- you can brand my butt with the Fourth Amendment. The instant Archer hangs up -- the INTERCOM BUZZES. KIM (V.O.) Sir, your wife's on line one... S.I.S. on two... ARCHER Tell her to hang on -- As Archer punches up line two -- Tito bursts in. TITO A jet was chartered at Anderson Airfield. Guess who just showed up to pay for it? Pollux Troy. ARCHER Scramble the Reaction Team -- we're moving out. And get one of our people on that plane. TITO But there's still no sign of Castor... ARCHER Where one brother goes, the other's sure to follow... They rush our... the hold button on line 1 still blinking. EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING - DAY A sleek Cadillac pulls in... stopping next to a Land Rover. LARS MUELLER -- a muscular, crystal-eyed jar-head -- gets out of the Caddy. An instant later -- LUNT MUELLER -- emerges from the Rover. They are identical twins. The men scan the airport carefully, then open the rear doors of their respective vehicles. Castor emerges from the Caddy -- Armani clad. Exiting the Rover is Castor's younger brother POLLUX TROY -- skittish, brilliant, paranoid -- a human hummingbird. POLLUX You're 26 minutes late. The casing didn't fit -- right? I knew that cheap-shit Dietrich would rip us off... CASTOR Oh, God -- ! POLLUX What!? CASTOR I forgot to turn the damn thing on! POLLUX You're kidding, right? (to the twins) He's kidding... (grabs Castor by throat) ... are you fucking kidding!? Castor hugs Pollux lovingly. Pollux squirms like a kid. CASTOR Bro -- everything went fine. POLLUX I hate when you call me bro. Pollux heads for the jet. Castor hands Lunt a wad of cash. CASTOR Thanks for babysitting. LUNT Anything else? CASTOR I'll contact you when we get the rest of the money. (turns to leave) Oh, and stat away from downtown. The inversion layer's going to be pretty thick around the 18th. The twins nod... then take off. Castor heads for the jet. INT. JET - DAY Castor hustles in -- exhorting the PILOT. CASTOR Let's go, let's go! As the JET TURBINES start to WHINE, Castor sinks into his seat. A very sexy FLIGHT ATTENDANT appears and hands him a Scotch. He downs it, looking her over salaciously. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Would you like anything else? CASTOR Hell, yes... (pulls her into lap) It's the only way to fly. She smiles, not minding, until the jet suddenly slows its taxi down the runway. COCKPIT Castor yanks open the door. CASTOR What's wrong? AT END OF RUNWAY A squat car creeps INTO VIEW -- blocking the runway. EXT./INT. HUMVEE - MOVING - DAY Behind the wheel is Jon Archer. Beside him is Tito. BACK TO ARCHER CASTOR It's Archer. (gun to Pilot's head) Go, dammit! Suddenly the gun is BLASTED from Castor's hand. he turns around to see... the Flight Attendant behind them -- holding a smoking pistol. This is Agent WINTERS. WINTERS F.B.I.! Throttle down, captain! But Castor elbows the throttle up. The jet lurches forward, throwing Winters off balance. Pollux tackles her as the jet picks up speed. INT. HUMVEE - DAY Archer slams the vehicle into gear. ARCHER Get out. TITO You're not playing chicken with two tons of aluminum... ARCHER Get out! Tito obeys as Archer peels out. The HUMMER ROARS at the jet. The jet picks up speed, trying to get aloft. The humvee is aimed right at it... Archer's eyes narrow. COLLISION COURSE as two hunks of metal bear down. The machines are seconds apart when -- Archer looks up to see... Winters' face pressed up against the cockpit window, Castor holding a gun to her head. Archer cuts the wheel -- just avoiding the jet. The Hummer skids to a stop as Federal back-up arrives -- but too late. Archer watches an FBI chopper -- landing in a swirl of dust. As the jet picks up speed... the hatch opens. Castor blasts Winters in the side and tosses her onto the tarmac. INSIDE Castor smiles at Pollux, sensing freedom, until... KA-CHUNK: Something POUNDS the jet -- from above. Castor leans out the hatch and sees... The chopper on top of them -- Archer at the controls. Eye-contact -- years of hatred pass between these men. Castor BLASTS at him from the open hatch. The chopper's left windscreen spiderwebs. Archer jerks and weaves -- dodging the BULLETS. The chopper pulls away. The jet finally lifts off... when... The chopper settles on the jet -- slamming at its tail. TARMAC Tito reacts to this madness -- as the chopper plays a deadly game of leap-frog with the jet. The end of the runway is coming up fast. Archer crushes the jet's horizontal elevator flap. JET PILOT can't budge the jet's jammed yoke. Thwarted, he powers back the throttle. Thrust reverse. CASTOR What are you doing? PILOT The horizontal elevator's smashed! We can't lift off! CASTOR SHOOTS the Pilot -- then takes the controls. He struggles to maneuver the jet. Suddenly... A biplane descends right at them -- about to land. ARCHER pulls up just as the JET swerves radically to avoid the biplane and SLAMS into the hangar. JET plows through the GLASS DOOR, the NOSE-WHEEL SNAPS off. The PLANE SKIDS right into the hangar -- finally stopping at the wings. FBI CHOPPER lands. Archer steps out calmly -- like a cop about to write a traffic ticket. He hurries to join more FBI agents rushing into the hangar ahead of him. INT. HANGAR - DAY The jet hatch pops open -- Castor leaps from it, FIRING. Two FBI agents drop -- riddled. Pollux appears at the hatch -- an FBI sharpshooter FIRES, grazing Pollux's shoulder. Staggered, Pollux falls -- Castor catches him before he hits the floor -- simultaneously BLASTING the sharpshooter. Castor drags Pollux back into the smoke-filled hangar. Archer arrives and quickly checks the dead agents, his anger building. He signals Tito and the others to spread out. DEEP IN HANGAR A maze of airplane debris and heavy machinery. Led by Archer, the FBI agents pick their way through it. ROOKIE LOOMIS snaps alert -- did he see something? Advancing carefully, he comes up on... Castor -- staunching Pollux's shoulder wound. Pollux sees the agent -- and FIRES. Loomis hits the floor -- his bleeding ear is shredded. Suddenly a forklift charges down on Castor and Pollux. Tito is at the wheel. Castor FIRES -- forcing Tito to dive off. The forklift careens on -- driving apart the brothers. The forklift upends a stack of heavy crates -- pinning Pollux. Castor tries to free his trapped brother. POLLUX Forget it -- Go! Go! He slaps his Glock into Pollux's hand. CASTOR Wherever they put you, I'll find a way to get you out... Pollux starts FIRING -- covering Castor as he runs through a tunnel which leads to an adjoining hangar. Suddenly Wanda presses her machine-pistol into Pollux's head. As Pollux raises his gun -- Tito grabs his hand. TITO -- not unless you want that 200 I.Q. splattered all over the floor. (as Archer approaches) We got him now, Jon. ARCHER That's what you always say. Seal it off. I'm going in. Archer moves away from the group and enters the tunnel. MUSIC as Archer and Castor begin their cat-and-mouse dance. Sensing Archer, Castor pauses by an old landing gear. He draws a fresh pistol from his ankle holster and moves on. Archer pauses at the landing gear... his own stealthy movements mirroring Castor's. Castor waits behind a stack of steel drums... his gaze trying to penetrate the darkness... He SNAPS his fingers. The sound ECHOES as he tries to draw Archer in. Archer reacts to the sound and SNAPS back -- answering the challenge. As the deadly beat between them continues -- BLAM BLAM BLAM! Archer spins away just as Castor OPENS FIRE from the gloom... one step ahead. INTERCUT as necessary: CASTOR Jon, I'm getting a little annoyed by your obsessive need to spoil my fun. ARCHER And how much will your 'fun' net you this time? BOOM BOOM BOOM! Half-blind SHOTS send Castor spinning. A moment later, Archer pursues... SNAP! He fits a new CLIP into his pistol. CASTOR What's it to you? I declare it. Here I am, back in the States for less than a week -- ARCHER You're under arrest. Incredibly, you still have the right to remain silent -- CASTOR I've got something going down on the eighteenth... it's gonna be worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaoh. I'll give it up -- but my brother and I have to walk. ARCHER No discussion -- no deals. CASTOR What're you gonna do with me locked up? You'll drive your wife and kid nuts! I bet your daughter is just about ripe by now. What's her name, Janie? Enraged, Archer steps boldly forward -- trying to draw his enemy out. Silence -- then Archer senses... Castor is behind him. He FIRES -- Archer dives away. The BARRAGE CONTINUES -- driving Archer back between two huge turbine engines. As Archer reloads, he stares at the control panel switches. Castor moves in for the kill when he hears a final SNAP- SNAP. Except it isn't a finger snap... it's two switches. VRRRROOOM! The TWIN ENGINES ROAR on! Unable to fight the churning tornado-force wind... Castor's blasted across the hangar... slamming hard into the far wall. The ENGINES STOP and Archer emerges -- joined by Tito. TITO Tell me he didn't get away again... Then Tito follows Archer's gaze to Castor's lifeless body. Still as death -- somehow his mocking smile survives. EXT. AIRPORT TARMAC - SUNSET Heavily-manacled, an extremely agitated Pollux is herded into a SWAT van by Buzz and Wanda. POLLUX Where's my brother?! I want to see my brother! The van takes off -- passing an imposing older man, flanked by two bodyguards. Bullying through the media, Assistant FBI Director VICTOR LAZARRO scans the devastation. Approaching Archer, he watches as Castor's body is loaded on the ambulance. A sheet covers Castor's lifeless face. LAZARRO The oversight committee would've roasted us for this one -- thank God it paid off. Damn fine work. ARCHER Real fine, Victor. Especially the casualties. Archer contemplates the slain agents -- their three bodies laid out in a row -- waiting to be zip-locked. Lazarro reacts grimly as a reporter snaps a photo of the bodies. Instinctively, the two men close ranks. Archer grabs the Nikon, ejects the film, then shoves the camera back. LAZARRO Classified information. No photographs. Lazarro puts a caring arm around Archer's shoulder and leads him away from the media... and the carnage. LAZARRO You okay, Jon? (off Archer's nod) Then go home. Tell Eve. EXT. ARCHER'S HOME (SANTA MONICA) - SUNSET A renovated Craftsman. Sipping a carton of milk, Archer pulls into the driveway. He sits, gathering his thoughts. INT. ARCHER'S HOME - NIGHT Archer enters and sees his wife EVE. Handsome, intelligent. ARCHER Hi... (no response) ... What's wrong? She nods toward the KITCHEN. JAMIE is there -- a sullen and hard fifteen-year-old. There are cigarette cartons on the table. EVE She complimented for her 'F' in history with an 'A' in shoplifting... Archer marches into the kitchen -- noting the crate of Marlboros. Jamie matter-of-factly pours herself coffee. ARCHER Nice stunt, Jamie. You break the law and I'm expected to ignore it? JAMIE That's right -- it's all about you. Don't even ask me what happened. Archer looks to Eve for help. Eve shakes her head -- nope. ARCHER Okay. What happened? JAMIE Like you'd ever fucking believe me! She bolts. In anticipation, Eve calmly opens the door as Jamie rushes out, then closes it behind her. EVE Well, you tried. You failed miserably, but you tried. ARCHER Why won't she even talk to me? EVE Maybe because you taught her never to speak to strangers. (immediately regrets it) I'm sorry... that wasn't fair. Eve kisses his cheek -- then gathers up her doctor gear. EVE I've got patients waiting. Try again, Jon. She hates you -- but she needs you. ARCHER Eve... Something in Archer's expression makes her stop. EVE Jon -- what is it? But he's too overcome. He starts to speak -- but can't. EVE Is it -- him? It's... it's over? Emotions avalanche across his face until he finally looks up. Eve pulls him close -- a sheltering embrace for them both. ARCHER I'm going to make everything up to you and Jamie. I'll put in for a desk job. We'll go away, get counseling -- anything you want. This time, I mean it. INT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Freshly dressed, Archer heads down the hall. He pauses at the door to Jamie's room when he sees -- Jamie. Fully clothed, she's fast asleep on her bed cluttered with clothes and assorted girl-stuff. Her face peaceful. Archer looks around her room... sees the stuffed animals collecting dust... replaced by makeup, jewelry, beefcake Calvin Klein ads and band posters, etc. Archer's startled to see a lacey bustier... his little girl is growing up fast. And he's missing it. He pulls the blanket up over her and quietly slips out. The instant he leaves, Jamie kicks the blankets off. INT. FBI BUILDING - DAY Dominated by the FBI seal. Archer steps to the check point. SECURITY GUARD Print, please. Archer presses his thumb to a scan-pad -- and is cleared. INT. BULL PEN - DAY Efficient as a beehive -- agents, cryptologists, support staff buzz at their routines. Archer strides through -- drawing congratulatory nods and "thumbs up" signs... OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE Archer's team is there. Applauding. Proud. Uneasy with plaudits, he disperses the disappointed agents. ARCHER Much appreciated. Now let's get back to work, okay? WANDA (to Buzz) Is that stick ever gonna fall out of his ass? Archer's well-built secretary -- KIM BREWSTER -- hands him his messages. She's holding a bottle of Dom Perignon. KIMBERLY The C.I.A. sent this over. What should I do with it? ARCHER Send it back and tell them to stop wasting the taxpayers' money. Anything else, Miss Brewster? KIMBERLY No, sir. He enters his office. Kimberly sighs and turns to Wanda. KIMBERLY Four years -- and he still calls me 'Miss Brewster.' INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Sitting at his computer -- Archer scrolls through Castor's file. He grimly contemplates face-after-face of Troy's victims -- finally pausing on a photo of his son Matthew. Burying his feeling, he types "CASE CLOSED" over Castor's image. Archer starts to press "enter" when Tito comes in. ARCHER How's Loomis? TITO He needs some surgery, but he's going to be okay. That's the good news... ARCHER Go on. TITO ... Brodie and Miller from Special Ops need to see you. ARCHER I don't have time for those cloak and dagger guys. Big NED BRODIE and athletic female HOLLIS MILLER stroll in. BRODIE You better make time, Jon. (hefts a disc) We found this in the jet wreckage -- among Pollux Troy's effects... Archer accedes as Miller pops in the disk. The computer screen displays a CAD schematic of the bomb. Archer studies it carefully -- unease growing. ARCHER Porcelain casing... Thermal cloak... Undetectable payload. MILLER Powerful enough to flatten ten city blocks. ARCHER 'Worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaohs.' (to Tito) Get Pollux Troy. Now. DISSOLVE TO: INTERROGATION FOOTAGE Wired to a complex machine -- Pollux seems to have his frustrated interrogators on the run. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Archer, Lazarro, Tito, Brodie, Miller and other FBI officials watch the monitor. Pollux remains implacable POLLUX (V.O.) (on screen) That bomb was just a crossword puzzle to me... a mental exercise. I never built it... Lazarro shuts down the monitor... turns to Archer. ARCHER He's lying. LAZARRO He's hooked up to a full-spectrum polygraph. ARCHER Pollux is a manipulative psychopath. He can control his heartbeat, his sweat glands, his blood pressure... LAZARRO Jon, I trust your instincts, I always have. But D.C. wants more evidence. And frankly, so do I. ARCHER You'll get all the evidence you need when ten thousand people die. LAZARRO We'll get a team right on it. But we can't evacuate the city on what amounts to a hunch. Archer looks at the gathered brass. He knows it's hopeless. ARCHER That bomb has been built, it's out there somewhere and it's going to detonate... EXT. FBI BUILDING - INTELLIGENCE MEMORIAL - DAY Words etched in the granite wall read: IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY Archer watches as a workman engraves the last of the three new stars among so many others -- each one honoring the dead. BRODIE Didn't Castor give any clue where the bomb might be? ARCHER Only one person knows -- his brother Pollux. And he'll keep his mouth shut until it blows. BRODIE We could plant an agent in his cell -- get him to spill the location. ARCHER Pollux is way too paranoid. The only person he'd talk to about that bomb is Castor himself. And dead men can't talk. Brodie and Miller exchange a knowing look. BRODIE There might be a way around that... FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S BODY Tubes and hoses are plugged into every orifice. INT. ICU ROOM - DAY Archer stares at the body... he can't believe it. ARCHER Why are you keeping him alive? (gets no answer) As long as he's breathing, he's dangerous. MILLER Relax, he's a turnip. Miller grinds out her cigarette on Castor's leg. Of course, Castor just lies there like a vegetable. BRODIE We can arrange for you to enter Erewhon Prison -- as Castor Troy. ARCHER What are you talking about? Archer turns as DR. MALCOLM HOAG (50s) enters the room. HOAG I think I'd better answer that question. (offers hand) Malcolm Hoag. I run the Physiological Camouflage Unit for Special Ops. ARCHER I know who you are. MILLER But you don't know what he can do. Physical augmentation; enhancement surgery... BRODIE ... He can disguise a compromised agent or alter the likeness -- even the voice -- of a government witness. HOAG Let me show you how it's done. (leading him out) I think you'll recognize our patient... INT. HOAG'S SURGICAL BAY - DAY Loomis lies still as a surgeon carefully scrapes away charred flesh around his burned ear. The doctor turns to a -- STEREO-LITHOGRAPHIC MACHINE Laser-beams attack an organic soup with incredible precision. The light forces a chemical reaction -- and out of the soup -- an ear begins to form. It rises from the liquid, now fully-formed. The surgeon takes the ear and fits it in place on Loomis's head. He starts suturing. OBSERVATION BOOTH - ABOVE Archer, Hoag, Brodie and Miller watch the operation -- video-enhanced by the two huge screens on the far walls. HOAG With our new generation of anti- inflammatories, healing is accelerated from weeks to days. By his next paycheck, he won't even remember which ear he lost. (a beat) Your situation, however, would be a little less permanent... BRODIE -- and a lot more classified. Hoag holds up a face-sized organic shell made up of yellow cartilage pieces and tendons, etc. Archer pulls it over his face -- like a gauze mask. A "tendon" falls off. ARCHER This'll fool Pollux. HOAG That is a state-of-the-art morpho- genetic template. The inside can be built to match the exact shape of your skull; the outside -- exactly like Castor's. Then we fit his face right on top -- MILLER -- and you become him. ARCHER You're talking about removing the guy's face? BRODIE Borrowing, Jon. The procedure's completely reversible. MILLER One way or the other -- the mission ends on the eighteenth. Archer turns the shell over and over and over in his hands. BRODIE You know Castor better than anyone. You've lived and breathed him for years -- hell, you even look a little like him. Archer shoves the template back at Hoag. ARCHER Find yourself another lab-rat. MILLER If you don't do this -- Castor will beat us again. He'll beat you again... Archer pushes his way past them -- and marches out. HOAG I don't think that went very well. BRODIE Trust us, Doc... MILLER ... he'll jerk around. Then he'll be back. INT. INTERROGATION BOOTHS - DAY Archer enters... sizes up DIETRICH HASSLER. His stylish garb doesn't completely hide his criminal roots. Archer sits down calmly. He looks at his watch. ARCHER I'm in a hurry, Dietrich. So you've only got ten seconds to go through your usual litany of lies, empty threats, and moronic denials. Then I'm coming over there -- DIETRICH If you're in such a fucking hurry -- why are you wasting your time with me? I'm just an art dealer. ARCHER You're a dealer, all right: technical secrets, munitions... explosives. DIETRICH You've never proven any of that. And when my bitchy, never-been- laid femi-nazi lawyer gets here, she's going to... ARCHER Time's up. Archer topples the wooden table and tears a leg from the top. Brandishing it -- he stalks the startled thug. HALLWAY JUST OUTSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Lazarro blanches as an obsessed Archer repeatedly slams the table leg against the wall -- above Dietrich's head. LAZARRO The only ticking bomb I see is inside his head. He's getting worse, Tito. TITO Don't worry, sir. It's all an act... But as Lazarro leaves -- we see Tito's worried, too. BACK INSIDE BOOTH Archer has a terrified Dietrich backed into the corner. DIETRICH ... Okay! Castor called me but I blew him off... I swear I never saw him. And I don't know anything about any bomb! INT. CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE INTERROGATION BOOTHS - SAME TIME Archer emerges... eyes blazing. ARCHER Let him go, but I want him watched... Who's next? TITO Just Dietrich's sister... In another booth, a careworn but striking woman sits with a little boy on her lap. She gently helps him Crayola a book. This is SASHA HASSLER (30) and her son ADAM (5). INT. INTERROGATION BOOTH - DAY Archer hovers over Sasha -- her maternal warmth replaced by an icy hatred. Tito and the child are gone. ARCHER When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? SASHA Who cares? He's dead. ARCHER Answer the question. SASHA Look, I'm clean. I teach kids now -- ARCHER Sasha -- you are a felon, on probation for harboring Castor Troy. So it's in your best interest to cooperate. (as she's silent) Would you like your son put in a foster home? Sasha's eyes flash, her body coils -- but she keeps control. SASHA No, but I'm sure you'd love it -- you sick bastard. ARCHER (unmoved) When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? She stares at him with equal amounts of pity and hatred. SASHA I haven't seen him for years. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Archer watches as Adam leaves Dietrich and jumps into Sasha's arms. She hugs him protectively. Adam sees Archer watching them -- and smiles. Archer doesn't smile back. FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S REAL FACE PULL BACK TO: INT. I.C.U. - NIGHT Archer slowly circles Castor's muscular, hairy, tattooed body. Although on life support -- his signature smirk remains. ARCHER What about Lazarro? BRODIE No way -- the red tape alone would take a month. This is a black-bag operation -- completely off the books. MILLER If you need him, Tito can help you prepare. But you know the drill: You can't tell anyone -- not the Director, not your wife... nobody. Archer's face shows he doesn't like it -- then he nods. ARCHER I'm in. EXT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Archer slowly gets out of his car. Trudging toward the front door, he picks up a basketball and takes a shot. His form is terrible -- he misses by a mile. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Archer passes Jamie's room. Loud MUSIC POUNDS from within. He pauses to knock, thinks again, then heads down the hall. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Eve is in bed. Archer comes in quietly and sits beside her -- studying her peaceful, sleeping face. She stirs. EVE I was dreaming... ARCHER Something good? EVE I'm not sure... you were flying this(...TRUNCATED) | actually | How many times the word 'actually' appears in the text? | 0 |
"Face/Off", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary Revised 9/10/96 FADE INTO: SEPIA-TONE FOOTAGE of a pig chasing a lion chasing a dinosaur chasing an elephant. Noah's Ark going round... and round... and round... EXT. GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL - DAY Disjointed CALLIOPE MUSIC as the wheel of fate and fortune goes around until we PULL BACK to reveal: JON ARCHER (30) rising winged Pegasus. On the adjacent unicorn is his son MATTHEW (5). Clutching a balloon, Matty waves at his dad. A happy moment, like so many certain to follow -- until we realize we are watching them THROUGH... SNIPER'S RIFLE SCOPE - SNIPER'S EYES wait until the child clears his aim -- Archer is the target. They round the bend and disappear... MATTHEW Loses his grip on the unicorn. Archer reaches over and pulls him into his lap. They happily ride together... As the horses sweep back INTO VIEW... exposing Archer... Now we see the sniper. CASTOR TROY is cool, efficient, aggressive, sexual. His finger closes around the trigger. BOOM! A BULLET RIPS into Archer's back. Bleeding... he drops off his horse... and sinks to the deck of the carousel. His eyes desperately searching... searching... searching... until he sees -- Matthew lies on his back -- still. Slowly, Archer reaches out and takes Matthew's hand... and now we see COLOR for the first time... Blood red... as bleeding father touches bleeding son... TILT UP TO the winged Pegasus flying by -- now in full color and UP UP UP TO Matthew's red balloon... floating away. HANDEL'S MESSIAH OVER a SERIES OF SHOTS: FBI BRIEFING ROOM Gazing out the window as dawn breaks over the city below is Jon Archer... older... unshaven... fatigued... his eyes reveal a man in the grip of obsession. CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by, as if marking time itself... HOLY PLACE Smoky, spiritual... dominated by a gleaming, golden cross. A priest kneels before it -- deep in prayer. The glimmering cross comes INTO FOCUS... but it's just a light-reflection... off the casing of a large bomb. This is no chapel... but an atrium. Somewhere. And as the "priest" rubs out his cigarette we see it's Castor Troy -- carefully installing this complex device. ANOTHER CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by... ARCHER pockets his FBI badge, then holsters his gun... CASTOR sets the bomb timer -- then replaces a wall panel in front of it. Totally hidden. BRIEFING ROOM - CASTOR'S MUGSHOT is on a computer screen. His criminal dossier scrolls by endlessly: bombings, assassinations, mercenary kidnappings, terrorism-for-hire... Rookie agent LOOMIS studies the details carefully. Other agents -- including BUZZ and WANDA scan computer grid- maps, man phones, etc. amid the take-out cartons and coffee cups. These people are on high alert. ARCHER Any follow-up from L.A.P.D. Intelligence? BUZZ No, sir, nothing yet. ARCHER Get them on the phone -- now. What about S.I.S. and our airport teams? WANDA We've had everything from psychics to satellites on this. Even if Castor was here... he must have slipped the net by now... ARCHER He's here! And we're going to keep looking until we find him! A silence descends on the chastised team. As they go back to work, veteran agent TITO BIONDI takes Archer aside. TITO Jon, these people have been working round the clock -- you gotta cut them some slack... Archer considers his best friend's advice -- then... ARCHER I'll cut them some slack when I cut myself some slack. Archer marches out -- slamming the door behind him. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY (MORNING) Castor quietly shuts the security door behind him. An Hispanic voice startles him. JANITOR What are you doing? CASTOR (in perfect Spanish) Thank goodness, I feel like Icarus in the labyrinth -- where's the men's room? JANITOR (in Spanish) This area is off limits, Padre. (re: security door) How did you get in that room? Realizing the JANITOR is already too suspicious, Castor puts a priestly arm around him -- and leads him down the hall. CASTOR Okay... I have a confession to make, but you aren't gonna like it. I was planting a bomb. JANITOR Bomb? CASTOR You know -- boom -- (patting his neck) Oh, never mind... The Janitor suddenly twitches, his eyes rolls up in his head. As he gasps his last -- Castor heaves him down a stairwell. Now we see the needle-thin custom stiletto in Castor's hand. Castor kicks the Janitor's mop and bucket down the stairs -- making everything look like an accident. INT. SAME BUILDING - MAIN FLOOR - DAY (MORNING) The children's church choir -- 200 strong -- sing "Behold the Lamb of God." Clergy and lay persons listen reverently. "Father" Castor strolls by the singers -- casually heading for the exit. As he passes the risers, a teenage girl drops her sheet music at his feet. Returning it -- he whispers in her ear -- so close he's practically licking it. CASTOR I've never enjoyed 'The Messiah.' But your voice makes even a hack like Handel seem like a genius. He pats her behind and leaves. Although a little shaken, she's also drawn by Castor's sexual magnetism. EXT. LA CONVENTION CENTER - DAY (MORNING) The marquee proclaims: INTERNATIONAL CHURCH CHOIRS 18th- 21st: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. Castor exits -- politely holding the door for a beat cop. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY (MORNING) The office is a monument to obsession: photographs, clues, newsclips, totems of Castor Troy surround a pacing Archer. ARCHER (on phone) ... I don't have time to get a warrant from some hung-over judge. Just give me the go-ahead, Victor, and I promise -- as soon as this is over -- you can brand my butt with the Fourth Amendment. The instant Archer hangs up -- the INTERCOM BUZZES. KIM (V.O.) Sir, your wife's on line one... S.I.S. on two... ARCHER Tell her to hang on -- As Archer punches up line two -- Tito bursts in. TITO A jet was chartered at Anderson Airfield. Guess who just showed up to pay for it? Pollux Troy. ARCHER Scramble the Reaction Team -- we're moving out. And get one of our people on that plane. TITO But there's still no sign of Castor... ARCHER Where one brother goes, the other's sure to follow... They rush our... the hold button on line 1 still blinking. EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING - DAY A sleek Cadillac pulls in... stopping next to a Land Rover. LARS MUELLER -- a muscular, crystal-eyed jar-head -- gets out of the Caddy. An instant later -- LUNT MUELLER -- emerges from the Rover. They are identical twins. The men scan the airport carefully, then open the rear doors of their respective vehicles. Castor emerges from the Caddy -- Armani clad. Exiting the Rover is Castor's younger brother POLLUX TROY -- skittish, brilliant, paranoid -- a human hummingbird. POLLUX You're 26 minutes late. The casing didn't fit -- right? I knew that cheap-shit Dietrich would rip us off... CASTOR Oh, God -- ! POLLUX What!? CASTOR I forgot to turn the damn thing on! POLLUX You're kidding, right? (to the twins) He's kidding... (grabs Castor by throat) ... are you fucking kidding!? Castor hugs Pollux lovingly. Pollux squirms like a kid. CASTOR Bro -- everything went fine. POLLUX I hate when you call me bro. Pollux heads for the jet. Castor hands Lunt a wad of cash. CASTOR Thanks for babysitting. LUNT Anything else? CASTOR I'll contact you when we get the rest of the money. (turns to leave) Oh, and stat away from downtown. The inversion layer's going to be pretty thick around the 18th. The twins nod... then take off. Castor heads for the jet. INT. JET - DAY Castor hustles in -- exhorting the PILOT. CASTOR Let's go, let's go! As the JET TURBINES start to WHINE, Castor sinks into his seat. A very sexy FLIGHT ATTENDANT appears and hands him a Scotch. He downs it, looking her over salaciously. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Would you like anything else? CASTOR Hell, yes... (pulls her into lap) It's the only way to fly. She smiles, not minding, until the jet suddenly slows its taxi down the runway. COCKPIT Castor yanks open the door. CASTOR What's wrong? AT END OF RUNWAY A squat car creeps INTO VIEW -- blocking the runway. EXT./INT. HUMVEE - MOVING - DAY Behind the wheel is Jon Archer. Beside him is Tito. BACK TO ARCHER CASTOR It's Archer. (gun to Pilot's head) Go, dammit! Suddenly the gun is BLASTED from Castor's hand. he turns around to see... the Flight Attendant behind them -- holding a smoking pistol. This is Agent WINTERS. WINTERS F.B.I.! Throttle down, captain! But Castor elbows the throttle up. The jet lurches forward, throwing Winters off balance. Pollux tackles her as the jet picks up speed. INT. HUMVEE - DAY Archer slams the vehicle into gear. ARCHER Get out. TITO You're not playing chicken with two tons of aluminum... ARCHER Get out! Tito obeys as Archer peels out. The HUMMER ROARS at the jet. The jet picks up speed, trying to get aloft. The humvee is aimed right at it... Archer's eyes narrow. COLLISION COURSE as two hunks of metal bear down. The machines are seconds apart when -- Archer looks up to see... Winters' face pressed up against the cockpit window, Castor holding a gun to her head. Archer cuts the wheel -- just avoiding the jet. The Hummer skids to a stop as Federal back-up arrives -- but too late. Archer watches an FBI chopper -- landing in a swirl of dust. As the jet picks up speed... the hatch opens. Castor blasts Winters in the side and tosses her onto the tarmac. INSIDE Castor smiles at Pollux, sensing freedom, until... KA-CHUNK: Something POUNDS the jet -- from above. Castor leans out the hatch and sees... The chopper on top of them -- Archer at the controls. Eye-contact -- years of hatred pass between these men. Castor BLASTS at him from the open hatch. The chopper's left windscreen spiderwebs. Archer jerks and weaves -- dodging the BULLETS. The chopper pulls away. The jet finally lifts off... when... The chopper settles on the jet -- slamming at its tail. TARMAC Tito reacts to this madness -- as the chopper plays a deadly game of leap-frog with the jet. The end of the runway is coming up fast. Archer crushes the jet's horizontal elevator flap. JET PILOT can't budge the jet's jammed yoke. Thwarted, he powers back the throttle. Thrust reverse. CASTOR What are you doing? PILOT The horizontal elevator's smashed! We can't lift off! CASTOR SHOOTS the Pilot -- then takes the controls. He struggles to maneuver the jet. Suddenly... A biplane descends right at them -- about to land. ARCHER pulls up just as the JET swerves radically to avoid the biplane and SLAMS into the hangar. JET plows through the GLASS DOOR, the NOSE-WHEEL SNAPS off. The PLANE SKIDS right into the hangar -- finally stopping at the wings. FBI CHOPPER lands. Archer steps out calmly -- like a cop about to write a traffic ticket. He hurries to join more FBI agents rushing into the hangar ahead of him. INT. HANGAR - DAY The jet hatch pops open -- Castor leaps from it, FIRING. Two FBI agents drop -- riddled. Pollux appears at the hatch -- an FBI sharpshooter FIRES, grazing Pollux's shoulder. Staggered, Pollux falls -- Castor catches him before he hits the floor -- simultaneously BLASTING the sharpshooter. Castor drags Pollux back into the smoke-filled hangar. Archer arrives and quickly checks the dead agents, his anger building. He signals Tito and the others to spread out. DEEP IN HANGAR A maze of airplane debris and heavy machinery. Led by Archer, the FBI agents pick their way through it. ROOKIE LOOMIS snaps alert -- did he see something? Advancing carefully, he comes up on... Castor -- staunching Pollux's shoulder wound. Pollux sees the agent -- and FIRES. Loomis hits the floor -- his bleeding ear is shredded. Suddenly a forklift charges down on Castor and Pollux. Tito is at the wheel. Castor FIRES -- forcing Tito to dive off. The forklift careens on -- driving apart the brothers. The forklift upends a stack of heavy crates -- pinning Pollux. Castor tries to free his trapped brother. POLLUX Forget it -- Go! Go! He slaps his Glock into Pollux's hand. CASTOR Wherever they put you, I'll find a way to get you out... Pollux starts FIRING -- covering Castor as he runs through a tunnel which leads to an adjoining hangar. Suddenly Wanda presses her machine-pistol into Pollux's head. As Pollux raises his gun -- Tito grabs his hand. TITO -- not unless you want that 200 I.Q. splattered all over the floor. (as Archer approaches) We got him now, Jon. ARCHER That's what you always say. Seal it off. I'm going in. Archer moves away from the group and enters the tunnel. MUSIC as Archer and Castor begin their cat-and-mouse dance. Sensing Archer, Castor pauses by an old landing gear. He draws a fresh pistol from his ankle holster and moves on. Archer pauses at the landing gear... his own stealthy movements mirroring Castor's. Castor waits behind a stack of steel drums... his gaze trying to penetrate the darkness... He SNAPS his fingers. The sound ECHOES as he tries to draw Archer in. Archer reacts to the sound and SNAPS back -- answering the challenge. As the deadly beat between them continues -- BLAM BLAM BLAM! Archer spins away just as Castor OPENS FIRE from the gloom... one step ahead. INTERCUT as necessary: CASTOR Jon, I'm getting a little annoyed by your obsessive need to spoil my fun. ARCHER And how much will your 'fun' net you this time? BOOM BOOM BOOM! Half-blind SHOTS send Castor spinning. A moment later, Archer pursues... SNAP! He fits a new CLIP into his pistol. CASTOR What's it to you? I declare it. Here I am, back in the States for less than a week -- ARCHER You're under arrest. Incredibly, you still have the right to remain silent -- CASTOR I've got something going down on the eighteenth... it's gonna be worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaoh. I'll give it up -- but my brother and I have to walk. ARCHER No discussion -- no deals. CASTOR What're you gonna do with me locked up? You'll drive your wife and kid nuts! I bet your daughter is just about ripe by now. What's her name, Janie? Enraged, Archer steps boldly forward -- trying to draw his enemy out. Silence -- then Archer senses... Castor is behind him. He FIRES -- Archer dives away. The BARRAGE CONTINUES -- driving Archer back between two huge turbine engines. As Archer reloads, he stares at the control panel switches. Castor moves in for the kill when he hears a final SNAP- SNAP. Except it isn't a finger snap... it's two switches. VRRRROOOM! The TWIN ENGINES ROAR on! Unable to fight the churning tornado-force wind... Castor's blasted across the hangar... slamming hard into the far wall. The ENGINES STOP and Archer emerges -- joined by Tito. TITO Tell me he didn't get away again... Then Tito follows Archer's gaze to Castor's lifeless body. Still as death -- somehow his mocking smile survives. EXT. AIRPORT TARMAC - SUNSET Heavily-manacled, an extremely agitated Pollux is herded into a SWAT van by Buzz and Wanda. POLLUX Where's my brother?! I want to see my brother! The van takes off -- passing an imposing older man, flanked by two bodyguards. Bullying through the media, Assistant FBI Director VICTOR LAZARRO scans the devastation. Approaching Archer, he watches as Castor's body is loaded on the ambulance. A sheet covers Castor's lifeless face. LAZARRO The oversight committee would've roasted us for this one -- thank God it paid off. Damn fine work. ARCHER Real fine, Victor. Especially the casualties. Archer contemplates the slain agents -- their three bodies laid out in a row -- waiting to be zip-locked. Lazarro reacts grimly as a reporter snaps a photo of the bodies. Instinctively, the two men close ranks. Archer grabs the Nikon, ejects the film, then shoves the camera back. LAZARRO Classified information. No photographs. Lazarro puts a caring arm around Archer's shoulder and leads him away from the media... and the carnage. LAZARRO You okay, Jon? (off Archer's nod) Then go home. Tell Eve. EXT. ARCHER'S HOME (SANTA MONICA) - SUNSET A renovated Craftsman. Sipping a carton of milk, Archer pulls into the driveway. He sits, gathering his thoughts. INT. ARCHER'S HOME - NIGHT Archer enters and sees his wife EVE. Handsome, intelligent. ARCHER Hi... (no response) ... What's wrong? She nods toward the KITCHEN. JAMIE is there -- a sullen and hard fifteen-year-old. There are cigarette cartons on the table. EVE She complimented for her 'F' in history with an 'A' in shoplifting... Archer marches into the kitchen -- noting the crate of Marlboros. Jamie matter-of-factly pours herself coffee. ARCHER Nice stunt, Jamie. You break the law and I'm expected to ignore it? JAMIE That's right -- it's all about you. Don't even ask me what happened. Archer looks to Eve for help. Eve shakes her head -- nope. ARCHER Okay. What happened? JAMIE Like you'd ever fucking believe me! She bolts. In anticipation, Eve calmly opens the door as Jamie rushes out, then closes it behind her. EVE Well, you tried. You failed miserably, but you tried. ARCHER Why won't she even talk to me? EVE Maybe because you taught her never to speak to strangers. (immediately regrets it) I'm sorry... that wasn't fair. Eve kisses his cheek -- then gathers up her doctor gear. EVE I've got patients waiting. Try again, Jon. She hates you -- but she needs you. ARCHER Eve... Something in Archer's expression makes her stop. EVE Jon -- what is it? But he's too overcome. He starts to speak -- but can't. EVE Is it -- him? It's... it's over? Emotions avalanche across his face until he finally looks up. Eve pulls him close -- a sheltering embrace for them both. ARCHER I'm going to make everything up to you and Jamie. I'll put in for a desk job. We'll go away, get counseling -- anything you want. This time, I mean it. INT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Freshly dressed, Archer heads down the hall. He pauses at the door to Jamie's room when he sees -- Jamie. Fully clothed, she's fast asleep on her bed cluttered with clothes and assorted girl-stuff. Her face peaceful. Archer looks around her room... sees the stuffed animals collecting dust... replaced by makeup, jewelry, beefcake Calvin Klein ads and band posters, etc. Archer's startled to see a lacey bustier... his little girl is growing up fast. And he's missing it. He pulls the blanket up over her and quietly slips out. The instant he leaves, Jamie kicks the blankets off. INT. FBI BUILDING - DAY Dominated by the FBI seal. Archer steps to the check point. SECURITY GUARD Print, please. Archer presses his thumb to a scan-pad -- and is cleared. INT. BULL PEN - DAY Efficient as a beehive -- agents, cryptologists, support staff buzz at their routines. Archer strides through -- drawing congratulatory nods and "thumbs up" signs... OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE Archer's team is there. Applauding. Proud. Uneasy with plaudits, he disperses the disappointed agents. ARCHER Much appreciated. Now let's get back to work, okay? WANDA (to Buzz) Is that stick ever gonna fall out of his ass? Archer's well-built secretary -- KIM BREWSTER -- hands him his messages. She's holding a bottle of Dom Perignon. KIMBERLY The C.I.A. sent this over. What should I do with it? ARCHER Send it back and tell them to stop wasting the taxpayers' money. Anything else, Miss Brewster? KIMBERLY No, sir. He enters his office. Kimberly sighs and turns to Wanda. KIMBERLY Four years -- and he still calls me 'Miss Brewster.' INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Sitting at his computer -- Archer scrolls through Castor's file. He grimly contemplates face-after-face of Troy's victims -- finally pausing on a photo of his son Matthew. Burying his feeling, he types "CASE CLOSED" over Castor's image. Archer starts to press "enter" when Tito comes in. ARCHER How's Loomis? TITO He needs some surgery, but he's going to be okay. That's the good news... ARCHER Go on. TITO ... Brodie and Miller from Special Ops need to see you. ARCHER I don't have time for those cloak and dagger guys. Big NED BRODIE and athletic female HOLLIS MILLER stroll in. BRODIE You better make time, Jon. (hefts a disc) We found this in the jet wreckage -- among Pollux Troy's effects... Archer accedes as Miller pops in the disk. The computer screen displays a CAD schematic of the bomb. Archer studies it carefully -- unease growing. ARCHER Porcelain casing... Thermal cloak... Undetectable payload. MILLER Powerful enough to flatten ten city blocks. ARCHER 'Worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaohs.' (to Tito) Get Pollux Troy. Now. DISSOLVE TO: INTERROGATION FOOTAGE Wired to a complex machine -- Pollux seems to have his frustrated interrogators on the run. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Archer, Lazarro, Tito, Brodie, Miller and other FBI officials watch the monitor. Pollux remains implacable POLLUX (V.O.) (on screen) That bomb was just a crossword puzzle to me... a mental exercise. I never built it... Lazarro shuts down the monitor... turns to Archer. ARCHER He's lying. LAZARRO He's hooked up to a full-spectrum polygraph. ARCHER Pollux is a manipulative psychopath. He can control his heartbeat, his sweat glands, his blood pressure... LAZARRO Jon, I trust your instincts, I always have. But D.C. wants more evidence. And frankly, so do I. ARCHER You'll get all the evidence you need when ten thousand people die. LAZARRO We'll get a team right on it. But we can't evacuate the city on what amounts to a hunch. Archer looks at the gathered brass. He knows it's hopeless. ARCHER That bomb has been built, it's out there somewhere and it's going to detonate... EXT. FBI BUILDING - INTELLIGENCE MEMORIAL - DAY Words etched in the granite wall read: IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY Archer watches as a workman engraves the last of the three new stars among so many others -- each one honoring the dead. BRODIE Didn't Castor give any clue where the bomb might be? ARCHER Only one person knows -- his brother Pollux. And he'll keep his mouth shut until it blows. BRODIE We could plant an agent in his cell -- get him to spill the location. ARCHER Pollux is way too paranoid. The only person he'd talk to about that bomb is Castor himself. And dead men can't talk. Brodie and Miller exchange a knowing look. BRODIE There might be a way around that... FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S BODY Tubes and hoses are plugged into every orifice. INT. ICU ROOM - DAY Archer stares at the body... he can't believe it. ARCHER Why are you keeping him alive? (gets no answer) As long as he's breathing, he's dangerous. MILLER Relax, he's a turnip. Miller grinds out her cigarette on Castor's leg. Of course, Castor just lies there like a vegetable. BRODIE We can arrange for you to enter Erewhon Prison -- as Castor Troy. ARCHER What are you talking about? Archer turns as DR. MALCOLM HOAG (50s) enters the room. HOAG I think I'd better answer that question. (offers hand) Malcolm Hoag. I run the Physiological Camouflage Unit for Special Ops. ARCHER I know who you are. MILLER But you don't know what he can do. Physical augmentation; enhancement surgery... BRODIE ... He can disguise a compromised agent or alter the likeness -- even the voice -- of a government witness. HOAG Let me show you how it's done. (leading him out) I think you'll recognize our patient... INT. HOAG'S SURGICAL BAY - DAY Loomis lies still as a surgeon carefully scrapes away charred flesh around his burned ear. The doctor turns to a -- STEREO-LITHOGRAPHIC MACHINE Laser-beams attack an organic soup with incredible precision. The light forces a chemical reaction -- and out of the soup -- an ear begins to form. It rises from the liquid, now fully-formed. The surgeon takes the ear and fits it in place on Loomis's head. He starts suturing. OBSERVATION BOOTH - ABOVE Archer, Hoag, Brodie and Miller watch the operation -- video-enhanced by the two huge screens on the far walls. HOAG With our new generation of anti- inflammatories, healing is accelerated from weeks to days. By his next paycheck, he won't even remember which ear he lost. (a beat) Your situation, however, would be a little less permanent... BRODIE -- and a lot more classified. Hoag holds up a face-sized organic shell made up of yellow cartilage pieces and tendons, etc. Archer pulls it over his face -- like a gauze mask. A "tendon" falls off. ARCHER This'll fool Pollux. HOAG That is a state-of-the-art morpho- genetic template. The inside can be built to match the exact shape of your skull; the outside -- exactly like Castor's. Then we fit his face right on top -- MILLER -- and you become him. ARCHER You're talking about removing the guy's face? BRODIE Borrowing, Jon. The procedure's completely reversible. MILLER One way or the other -- the mission ends on the eighteenth. Archer turns the shell over and over and over in his hands. BRODIE You know Castor better than anyone. You've lived and breathed him for years -- hell, you even look a little like him. Archer shoves the template back at Hoag. ARCHER Find yourself another lab-rat. MILLER If you don't do this -- Castor will beat us again. He'll beat you again... Archer pushes his way past them -- and marches out. HOAG I don't think that went very well. BRODIE Trust us, Doc... MILLER ... he'll jerk around. Then he'll be back. INT. INTERROGATION BOOTHS - DAY Archer enters... sizes up DIETRICH HASSLER. His stylish garb doesn't completely hide his criminal roots. Archer sits down calmly. He looks at his watch. ARCHER I'm in a hurry, Dietrich. So you've only got ten seconds to go through your usual litany of lies, empty threats, and moronic denials. Then I'm coming over there -- DIETRICH If you're in such a fucking hurry -- why are you wasting your time with me? I'm just an art dealer. ARCHER You're a dealer, all right: technical secrets, munitions... explosives. DIETRICH You've never proven any of that. And when my bitchy, never-been- laid femi-nazi lawyer gets here, she's going to... ARCHER Time's up. Archer topples the wooden table and tears a leg from the top. Brandishing it -- he stalks the startled thug. HALLWAY JUST OUTSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Lazarro blanches as an obsessed Archer repeatedly slams the table leg against the wall -- above Dietrich's head. LAZARRO The only ticking bomb I see is inside his head. He's getting worse, Tito. TITO Don't worry, sir. It's all an act... But as Lazarro leaves -- we see Tito's worried, too. BACK INSIDE BOOTH Archer has a terrified Dietrich backed into the corner. DIETRICH ... Okay! Castor called me but I blew him off... I swear I never saw him. And I don't know anything about any bomb! INT. CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE INTERROGATION BOOTHS - SAME TIME Archer emerges... eyes blazing. ARCHER Let him go, but I want him watched... Who's next? TITO Just Dietrich's sister... In another booth, a careworn but striking woman sits with a little boy on her lap. She gently helps him Crayola a book. This is SASHA HASSLER (30) and her son ADAM (5). INT. INTERROGATION BOOTH - DAY Archer hovers over Sasha -- her maternal warmth replaced by an icy hatred. Tito and the child are gone. ARCHER When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? SASHA Who cares? He's dead. ARCHER Answer the question. SASHA Look, I'm clean. I teach kids now -- ARCHER Sasha -- you are a felon, on probation for harboring Castor Troy. So it's in your best interest to cooperate. (as she's silent) Would you like your son put in a foster home? Sasha's eyes flash, her body coils -- but she keeps control. SASHA No, but I'm sure you'd love it -- you sick bastard. ARCHER (unmoved) When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? She stares at him with equal amounts of pity and hatred. SASHA I haven't seen him for years. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Archer watches as Adam leaves Dietrich and jumps into Sasha's arms. She hugs him protectively. Adam sees Archer watching them -- and smiles. Archer doesn't smile back. FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S REAL FACE PULL BACK TO: INT. I.C.U. - NIGHT Archer slowly circles Castor's muscular, hairy, tattooed body. Although on life support -- his signature smirk remains. ARCHER What about Lazarro? BRODIE No way -- the red tape alone would take a month. This is a black-bag operation -- completely off the books. MILLER If you need him, Tito can help you prepare. But you know the drill: You can't tell anyone -- not the Director, not your wife... nobody. Archer's face shows he doesn't like it -- then he nods. ARCHER I'm in. EXT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Archer slowly gets out of his car. Trudging toward the front door, he picks up a basketball and takes a shot. His form is terrible -- he misses by a mile. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Archer passes Jamie's room. Loud MUSIC POUNDS from within. He pauses to knock, thinks again, then heads down the hall. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Eve is in bed. Archer comes in quietly and sits beside her -- studying her peaceful, sleeping face. She stirs. EVE I was dreaming... ARCHER Something good? EVE I'm not sure... you were flying this(...TRUNCATED) | observ- | How many times the word 'observ-' appears in the text? | 0 |
"Face/Off", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary Revised 9/10/96 FADE INTO: SEPIA-TONE FOOTAGE of a pig chasing a lion chasing a dinosaur chasing an elephant. Noah's Ark going round... and round... and round... EXT. GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL - DAY Disjointed CALLIOPE MUSIC as the wheel of fate and fortune goes around until we PULL BACK to reveal: JON ARCHER (30) rising winged Pegasus. On the adjacent unicorn is his son MATTHEW (5). Clutching a balloon, Matty waves at his dad. A happy moment, like so many certain to follow -- until we realize we are watching them THROUGH... SNIPER'S RIFLE SCOPE - SNIPER'S EYES wait until the child clears his aim -- Archer is the target. They round the bend and disappear... MATTHEW Loses his grip on the unicorn. Archer reaches over and pulls him into his lap. They happily ride together... As the horses sweep back INTO VIEW... exposing Archer... Now we see the sniper. CASTOR TROY is cool, efficient, aggressive, sexual. His finger closes around the trigger. BOOM! A BULLET RIPS into Archer's back. Bleeding... he drops off his horse... and sinks to the deck of the carousel. His eyes desperately searching... searching... searching... until he sees -- Matthew lies on his back -- still. Slowly, Archer reaches out and takes Matthew's hand... and now we see COLOR for the first time... Blood red... as bleeding father touches bleeding son... TILT UP TO the winged Pegasus flying by -- now in full color and UP UP UP TO Matthew's red balloon... floating away. HANDEL'S MESSIAH OVER a SERIES OF SHOTS: FBI BRIEFING ROOM Gazing out the window as dawn breaks over the city below is Jon Archer... older... unshaven... fatigued... his eyes reveal a man in the grip of obsession. CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by, as if marking time itself... HOLY PLACE Smoky, spiritual... dominated by a gleaming, golden cross. A priest kneels before it -- deep in prayer. The glimmering cross comes INTO FOCUS... but it's just a light-reflection... off the casing of a large bomb. This is no chapel... but an atrium. Somewhere. And as the "priest" rubs out his cigarette we see it's Castor Troy -- carefully installing this complex device. ANOTHER CAROUSEL HORSE sweeps by... ARCHER pockets his FBI badge, then holsters his gun... CASTOR sets the bomb timer -- then replaces a wall panel in front of it. Totally hidden. BRIEFING ROOM - CASTOR'S MUGSHOT is on a computer screen. His criminal dossier scrolls by endlessly: bombings, assassinations, mercenary kidnappings, terrorism-for-hire... Rookie agent LOOMIS studies the details carefully. Other agents -- including BUZZ and WANDA scan computer grid- maps, man phones, etc. amid the take-out cartons and coffee cups. These people are on high alert. ARCHER Any follow-up from L.A.P.D. Intelligence? BUZZ No, sir, nothing yet. ARCHER Get them on the phone -- now. What about S.I.S. and our airport teams? WANDA We've had everything from psychics to satellites on this. Even if Castor was here... he must have slipped the net by now... ARCHER He's here! And we're going to keep looking until we find him! A silence descends on the chastised team. As they go back to work, veteran agent TITO BIONDI takes Archer aside. TITO Jon, these people have been working round the clock -- you gotta cut them some slack... Archer considers his best friend's advice -- then... ARCHER I'll cut them some slack when I cut myself some slack. Archer marches out -- slamming the door behind him. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY (MORNING) Castor quietly shuts the security door behind him. An Hispanic voice startles him. JANITOR What are you doing? CASTOR (in perfect Spanish) Thank goodness, I feel like Icarus in the labyrinth -- where's the men's room? JANITOR (in Spanish) This area is off limits, Padre. (re: security door) How did you get in that room? Realizing the JANITOR is already too suspicious, Castor puts a priestly arm around him -- and leads him down the hall. CASTOR Okay... I have a confession to make, but you aren't gonna like it. I was planting a bomb. JANITOR Bomb? CASTOR You know -- boom -- (patting his neck) Oh, never mind... The Janitor suddenly twitches, his eyes rolls up in his head. As he gasps his last -- Castor heaves him down a stairwell. Now we see the needle-thin custom stiletto in Castor's hand. Castor kicks the Janitor's mop and bucket down the stairs -- making everything look like an accident. INT. SAME BUILDING - MAIN FLOOR - DAY (MORNING) The children's church choir -- 200 strong -- sing "Behold the Lamb of God." Clergy and lay persons listen reverently. "Father" Castor strolls by the singers -- casually heading for the exit. As he passes the risers, a teenage girl drops her sheet music at his feet. Returning it -- he whispers in her ear -- so close he's practically licking it. CASTOR I've never enjoyed 'The Messiah.' But your voice makes even a hack like Handel seem like a genius. He pats her behind and leaves. Although a little shaken, she's also drawn by Castor's sexual magnetism. EXT. LA CONVENTION CENTER - DAY (MORNING) The marquee proclaims: INTERNATIONAL CHURCH CHOIRS 18th- 21st: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION. Castor exits -- politely holding the door for a beat cop. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY (MORNING) The office is a monument to obsession: photographs, clues, newsclips, totems of Castor Troy surround a pacing Archer. ARCHER (on phone) ... I don't have time to get a warrant from some hung-over judge. Just give me the go-ahead, Victor, and I promise -- as soon as this is over -- you can brand my butt with the Fourth Amendment. The instant Archer hangs up -- the INTERCOM BUZZES. KIM (V.O.) Sir, your wife's on line one... S.I.S. on two... ARCHER Tell her to hang on -- As Archer punches up line two -- Tito bursts in. TITO A jet was chartered at Anderson Airfield. Guess who just showed up to pay for it? Pollux Troy. ARCHER Scramble the Reaction Team -- we're moving out. And get one of our people on that plane. TITO But there's still no sign of Castor... ARCHER Where one brother goes, the other's sure to follow... They rush our... the hold button on line 1 still blinking. EXT. PRIVATE AIRPORT - ESTABLISHING - DAY A sleek Cadillac pulls in... stopping next to a Land Rover. LARS MUELLER -- a muscular, crystal-eyed jar-head -- gets out of the Caddy. An instant later -- LUNT MUELLER -- emerges from the Rover. They are identical twins. The men scan the airport carefully, then open the rear doors of their respective vehicles. Castor emerges from the Caddy -- Armani clad. Exiting the Rover is Castor's younger brother POLLUX TROY -- skittish, brilliant, paranoid -- a human hummingbird. POLLUX You're 26 minutes late. The casing didn't fit -- right? I knew that cheap-shit Dietrich would rip us off... CASTOR Oh, God -- ! POLLUX What!? CASTOR I forgot to turn the damn thing on! POLLUX You're kidding, right? (to the twins) He's kidding... (grabs Castor by throat) ... are you fucking kidding!? Castor hugs Pollux lovingly. Pollux squirms like a kid. CASTOR Bro -- everything went fine. POLLUX I hate when you call me bro. Pollux heads for the jet. Castor hands Lunt a wad of cash. CASTOR Thanks for babysitting. LUNT Anything else? CASTOR I'll contact you when we get the rest of the money. (turns to leave) Oh, and stat away from downtown. The inversion layer's going to be pretty thick around the 18th. The twins nod... then take off. Castor heads for the jet. INT. JET - DAY Castor hustles in -- exhorting the PILOT. CASTOR Let's go, let's go! As the JET TURBINES start to WHINE, Castor sinks into his seat. A very sexy FLIGHT ATTENDANT appears and hands him a Scotch. He downs it, looking her over salaciously. FLIGHT ATTENDANT Would you like anything else? CASTOR Hell, yes... (pulls her into lap) It's the only way to fly. She smiles, not minding, until the jet suddenly slows its taxi down the runway. COCKPIT Castor yanks open the door. CASTOR What's wrong? AT END OF RUNWAY A squat car creeps INTO VIEW -- blocking the runway. EXT./INT. HUMVEE - MOVING - DAY Behind the wheel is Jon Archer. Beside him is Tito. BACK TO ARCHER CASTOR It's Archer. (gun to Pilot's head) Go, dammit! Suddenly the gun is BLASTED from Castor's hand. he turns around to see... the Flight Attendant behind them -- holding a smoking pistol. This is Agent WINTERS. WINTERS F.B.I.! Throttle down, captain! But Castor elbows the throttle up. The jet lurches forward, throwing Winters off balance. Pollux tackles her as the jet picks up speed. INT. HUMVEE - DAY Archer slams the vehicle into gear. ARCHER Get out. TITO You're not playing chicken with two tons of aluminum... ARCHER Get out! Tito obeys as Archer peels out. The HUMMER ROARS at the jet. The jet picks up speed, trying to get aloft. The humvee is aimed right at it... Archer's eyes narrow. COLLISION COURSE as two hunks of metal bear down. The machines are seconds apart when -- Archer looks up to see... Winters' face pressed up against the cockpit window, Castor holding a gun to her head. Archer cuts the wheel -- just avoiding the jet. The Hummer skids to a stop as Federal back-up arrives -- but too late. Archer watches an FBI chopper -- landing in a swirl of dust. As the jet picks up speed... the hatch opens. Castor blasts Winters in the side and tosses her onto the tarmac. INSIDE Castor smiles at Pollux, sensing freedom, until... KA-CHUNK: Something POUNDS the jet -- from above. Castor leans out the hatch and sees... The chopper on top of them -- Archer at the controls. Eye-contact -- years of hatred pass between these men. Castor BLASTS at him from the open hatch. The chopper's left windscreen spiderwebs. Archer jerks and weaves -- dodging the BULLETS. The chopper pulls away. The jet finally lifts off... when... The chopper settles on the jet -- slamming at its tail. TARMAC Tito reacts to this madness -- as the chopper plays a deadly game of leap-frog with the jet. The end of the runway is coming up fast. Archer crushes the jet's horizontal elevator flap. JET PILOT can't budge the jet's jammed yoke. Thwarted, he powers back the throttle. Thrust reverse. CASTOR What are you doing? PILOT The horizontal elevator's smashed! We can't lift off! CASTOR SHOOTS the Pilot -- then takes the controls. He struggles to maneuver the jet. Suddenly... A biplane descends right at them -- about to land. ARCHER pulls up just as the JET swerves radically to avoid the biplane and SLAMS into the hangar. JET plows through the GLASS DOOR, the NOSE-WHEEL SNAPS off. The PLANE SKIDS right into the hangar -- finally stopping at the wings. FBI CHOPPER lands. Archer steps out calmly -- like a cop about to write a traffic ticket. He hurries to join more FBI agents rushing into the hangar ahead of him. INT. HANGAR - DAY The jet hatch pops open -- Castor leaps from it, FIRING. Two FBI agents drop -- riddled. Pollux appears at the hatch -- an FBI sharpshooter FIRES, grazing Pollux's shoulder. Staggered, Pollux falls -- Castor catches him before he hits the floor -- simultaneously BLASTING the sharpshooter. Castor drags Pollux back into the smoke-filled hangar. Archer arrives and quickly checks the dead agents, his anger building. He signals Tito and the others to spread out. DEEP IN HANGAR A maze of airplane debris and heavy machinery. Led by Archer, the FBI agents pick their way through it. ROOKIE LOOMIS snaps alert -- did he see something? Advancing carefully, he comes up on... Castor -- staunching Pollux's shoulder wound. Pollux sees the agent -- and FIRES. Loomis hits the floor -- his bleeding ear is shredded. Suddenly a forklift charges down on Castor and Pollux. Tito is at the wheel. Castor FIRES -- forcing Tito to dive off. The forklift careens on -- driving apart the brothers. The forklift upends a stack of heavy crates -- pinning Pollux. Castor tries to free his trapped brother. POLLUX Forget it -- Go! Go! He slaps his Glock into Pollux's hand. CASTOR Wherever they put you, I'll find a way to get you out... Pollux starts FIRING -- covering Castor as he runs through a tunnel which leads to an adjoining hangar. Suddenly Wanda presses her machine-pistol into Pollux's head. As Pollux raises his gun -- Tito grabs his hand. TITO -- not unless you want that 200 I.Q. splattered all over the floor. (as Archer approaches) We got him now, Jon. ARCHER That's what you always say. Seal it off. I'm going in. Archer moves away from the group and enters the tunnel. MUSIC as Archer and Castor begin their cat-and-mouse dance. Sensing Archer, Castor pauses by an old landing gear. He draws a fresh pistol from his ankle holster and moves on. Archer pauses at the landing gear... his own stealthy movements mirroring Castor's. Castor waits behind a stack of steel drums... his gaze trying to penetrate the darkness... He SNAPS his fingers. The sound ECHOES as he tries to draw Archer in. Archer reacts to the sound and SNAPS back -- answering the challenge. As the deadly beat between them continues -- BLAM BLAM BLAM! Archer spins away just as Castor OPENS FIRE from the gloom... one step ahead. INTERCUT as necessary: CASTOR Jon, I'm getting a little annoyed by your obsessive need to spoil my fun. ARCHER And how much will your 'fun' net you this time? BOOM BOOM BOOM! Half-blind SHOTS send Castor spinning. A moment later, Archer pursues... SNAP! He fits a new CLIP into his pistol. CASTOR What's it to you? I declare it. Here I am, back in the States for less than a week -- ARCHER You're under arrest. Incredibly, you still have the right to remain silent -- CASTOR I've got something going down on the eighteenth... it's gonna be worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaoh. I'll give it up -- but my brother and I have to walk. ARCHER No discussion -- no deals. CASTOR What're you gonna do with me locked up? You'll drive your wife and kid nuts! I bet your daughter is just about ripe by now. What's her name, Janie? Enraged, Archer steps boldly forward -- trying to draw his enemy out. Silence -- then Archer senses... Castor is behind him. He FIRES -- Archer dives away. The BARRAGE CONTINUES -- driving Archer back between two huge turbine engines. As Archer reloads, he stares at the control panel switches. Castor moves in for the kill when he hears a final SNAP- SNAP. Except it isn't a finger snap... it's two switches. VRRRROOOM! The TWIN ENGINES ROAR on! Unable to fight the churning tornado-force wind... Castor's blasted across the hangar... slamming hard into the far wall. The ENGINES STOP and Archer emerges -- joined by Tito. TITO Tell me he didn't get away again... Then Tito follows Archer's gaze to Castor's lifeless body. Still as death -- somehow his mocking smile survives. EXT. AIRPORT TARMAC - SUNSET Heavily-manacled, an extremely agitated Pollux is herded into a SWAT van by Buzz and Wanda. POLLUX Where's my brother?! I want to see my brother! The van takes off -- passing an imposing older man, flanked by two bodyguards. Bullying through the media, Assistant FBI Director VICTOR LAZARRO scans the devastation. Approaching Archer, he watches as Castor's body is loaded on the ambulance. A sheet covers Castor's lifeless face. LAZARRO The oversight committee would've roasted us for this one -- thank God it paid off. Damn fine work. ARCHER Real fine, Victor. Especially the casualties. Archer contemplates the slain agents -- their three bodies laid out in a row -- waiting to be zip-locked. Lazarro reacts grimly as a reporter snaps a photo of the bodies. Instinctively, the two men close ranks. Archer grabs the Nikon, ejects the film, then shoves the camera back. LAZARRO Classified information. No photographs. Lazarro puts a caring arm around Archer's shoulder and leads him away from the media... and the carnage. LAZARRO You okay, Jon? (off Archer's nod) Then go home. Tell Eve. EXT. ARCHER'S HOME (SANTA MONICA) - SUNSET A renovated Craftsman. Sipping a carton of milk, Archer pulls into the driveway. He sits, gathering his thoughts. INT. ARCHER'S HOME - NIGHT Archer enters and sees his wife EVE. Handsome, intelligent. ARCHER Hi... (no response) ... What's wrong? She nods toward the KITCHEN. JAMIE is there -- a sullen and hard fifteen-year-old. There are cigarette cartons on the table. EVE She complimented for her 'F' in history with an 'A' in shoplifting... Archer marches into the kitchen -- noting the crate of Marlboros. Jamie matter-of-factly pours herself coffee. ARCHER Nice stunt, Jamie. You break the law and I'm expected to ignore it? JAMIE That's right -- it's all about you. Don't even ask me what happened. Archer looks to Eve for help. Eve shakes her head -- nope. ARCHER Okay. What happened? JAMIE Like you'd ever fucking believe me! She bolts. In anticipation, Eve calmly opens the door as Jamie rushes out, then closes it behind her. EVE Well, you tried. You failed miserably, but you tried. ARCHER Why won't she even talk to me? EVE Maybe because you taught her never to speak to strangers. (immediately regrets it) I'm sorry... that wasn't fair. Eve kisses his cheek -- then gathers up her doctor gear. EVE I've got patients waiting. Try again, Jon. She hates you -- but she needs you. ARCHER Eve... Something in Archer's expression makes her stop. EVE Jon -- what is it? But he's too overcome. He starts to speak -- but can't. EVE Is it -- him? It's... it's over? Emotions avalanche across his face until he finally looks up. Eve pulls him close -- a sheltering embrace for them both. ARCHER I'm going to make everything up to you and Jamie. I'll put in for a desk job. We'll go away, get counseling -- anything you want. This time, I mean it. INT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Freshly dressed, Archer heads down the hall. He pauses at the door to Jamie's room when he sees -- Jamie. Fully clothed, she's fast asleep on her bed cluttered with clothes and assorted girl-stuff. Her face peaceful. Archer looks around her room... sees the stuffed animals collecting dust... replaced by makeup, jewelry, beefcake Calvin Klein ads and band posters, etc. Archer's startled to see a lacey bustier... his little girl is growing up fast. And he's missing it. He pulls the blanket up over her and quietly slips out. The instant he leaves, Jamie kicks the blankets off. INT. FBI BUILDING - DAY Dominated by the FBI seal. Archer steps to the check point. SECURITY GUARD Print, please. Archer presses his thumb to a scan-pad -- and is cleared. INT. BULL PEN - DAY Efficient as a beehive -- agents, cryptologists, support staff buzz at their routines. Archer strides through -- drawing congratulatory nods and "thumbs up" signs... OUTSIDE HIS OFFICE Archer's team is there. Applauding. Proud. Uneasy with plaudits, he disperses the disappointed agents. ARCHER Much appreciated. Now let's get back to work, okay? WANDA (to Buzz) Is that stick ever gonna fall out of his ass? Archer's well-built secretary -- KIM BREWSTER -- hands him his messages. She's holding a bottle of Dom Perignon. KIMBERLY The C.I.A. sent this over. What should I do with it? ARCHER Send it back and tell them to stop wasting the taxpayers' money. Anything else, Miss Brewster? KIMBERLY No, sir. He enters his office. Kimberly sighs and turns to Wanda. KIMBERLY Four years -- and he still calls me 'Miss Brewster.' INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Sitting at his computer -- Archer scrolls through Castor's file. He grimly contemplates face-after-face of Troy's victims -- finally pausing on a photo of his son Matthew. Burying his feeling, he types "CASE CLOSED" over Castor's image. Archer starts to press "enter" when Tito comes in. ARCHER How's Loomis? TITO He needs some surgery, but he's going to be okay. That's the good news... ARCHER Go on. TITO ... Brodie and Miller from Special Ops need to see you. ARCHER I don't have time for those cloak and dagger guys. Big NED BRODIE and athletic female HOLLIS MILLER stroll in. BRODIE You better make time, Jon. (hefts a disc) We found this in the jet wreckage -- among Pollux Troy's effects... Archer accedes as Miller pops in the disk. The computer screen displays a CAD schematic of the bomb. Archer studies it carefully -- unease growing. ARCHER Porcelain casing... Thermal cloak... Undetectable payload. MILLER Powerful enough to flatten ten city blocks. ARCHER 'Worse than anything God ever dumped on the Pharaohs.' (to Tito) Get Pollux Troy. Now. DISSOLVE TO: INTERROGATION FOOTAGE Wired to a complex machine -- Pollux seems to have his frustrated interrogators on the run. INT. ARCHER'S OFFICE - DAY Archer, Lazarro, Tito, Brodie, Miller and other FBI officials watch the monitor. Pollux remains implacable POLLUX (V.O.) (on screen) That bomb was just a crossword puzzle to me... a mental exercise. I never built it... Lazarro shuts down the monitor... turns to Archer. ARCHER He's lying. LAZARRO He's hooked up to a full-spectrum polygraph. ARCHER Pollux is a manipulative psychopath. He can control his heartbeat, his sweat glands, his blood pressure... LAZARRO Jon, I trust your instincts, I always have. But D.C. wants more evidence. And frankly, so do I. ARCHER You'll get all the evidence you need when ten thousand people die. LAZARRO We'll get a team right on it. But we can't evacuate the city on what amounts to a hunch. Archer looks at the gathered brass. He knows it's hopeless. ARCHER That bomb has been built, it's out there somewhere and it's going to detonate... EXT. FBI BUILDING - INTELLIGENCE MEMORIAL - DAY Words etched in the granite wall read: IN HONOR OF THOSE MEMBERS OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION WHO SACRIFICED THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY Archer watches as a workman engraves the last of the three new stars among so many others -- each one honoring the dead. BRODIE Didn't Castor give any clue where the bomb might be? ARCHER Only one person knows -- his brother Pollux. And he'll keep his mouth shut until it blows. BRODIE We could plant an agent in his cell -- get him to spill the location. ARCHER Pollux is way too paranoid. The only person he'd talk to about that bomb is Castor himself. And dead men can't talk. Brodie and Miller exchange a knowing look. BRODIE There might be a way around that... FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S BODY Tubes and hoses are plugged into every orifice. INT. ICU ROOM - DAY Archer stares at the body... he can't believe it. ARCHER Why are you keeping him alive? (gets no answer) As long as he's breathing, he's dangerous. MILLER Relax, he's a turnip. Miller grinds out her cigarette on Castor's leg. Of course, Castor just lies there like a vegetable. BRODIE We can arrange for you to enter Erewhon Prison -- as Castor Troy. ARCHER What are you talking about? Archer turns as DR. MALCOLM HOAG (50s) enters the room. HOAG I think I'd better answer that question. (offers hand) Malcolm Hoag. I run the Physiological Camouflage Unit for Special Ops. ARCHER I know who you are. MILLER But you don't know what he can do. Physical augmentation; enhancement surgery... BRODIE ... He can disguise a compromised agent or alter the likeness -- even the voice -- of a government witness. HOAG Let me show you how it's done. (leading him out) I think you'll recognize our patient... INT. HOAG'S SURGICAL BAY - DAY Loomis lies still as a surgeon carefully scrapes away charred flesh around his burned ear. The doctor turns to a -- STEREO-LITHOGRAPHIC MACHINE Laser-beams attack an organic soup with incredible precision. The light forces a chemical reaction -- and out of the soup -- an ear begins to form. It rises from the liquid, now fully-formed. The surgeon takes the ear and fits it in place on Loomis's head. He starts suturing. OBSERVATION BOOTH - ABOVE Archer, Hoag, Brodie and Miller watch the operation -- video-enhanced by the two huge screens on the far walls. HOAG With our new generation of anti- inflammatories, healing is accelerated from weeks to days. By his next paycheck, he won't even remember which ear he lost. (a beat) Your situation, however, would be a little less permanent... BRODIE -- and a lot more classified. Hoag holds up a face-sized organic shell made up of yellow cartilage pieces and tendons, etc. Archer pulls it over his face -- like a gauze mask. A "tendon" falls off. ARCHER This'll fool Pollux. HOAG That is a state-of-the-art morpho- genetic template. The inside can be built to match the exact shape of your skull; the outside -- exactly like Castor's. Then we fit his face right on top -- MILLER -- and you become him. ARCHER You're talking about removing the guy's face? BRODIE Borrowing, Jon. The procedure's completely reversible. MILLER One way or the other -- the mission ends on the eighteenth. Archer turns the shell over and over and over in his hands. BRODIE You know Castor better than anyone. You've lived and breathed him for years -- hell, you even look a little like him. Archer shoves the template back at Hoag. ARCHER Find yourself another lab-rat. MILLER If you don't do this -- Castor will beat us again. He'll beat you again... Archer pushes his way past them -- and marches out. HOAG I don't think that went very well. BRODIE Trust us, Doc... MILLER ... he'll jerk around. Then he'll be back. INT. INTERROGATION BOOTHS - DAY Archer enters... sizes up DIETRICH HASSLER. His stylish garb doesn't completely hide his criminal roots. Archer sits down calmly. He looks at his watch. ARCHER I'm in a hurry, Dietrich. So you've only got ten seconds to go through your usual litany of lies, empty threats, and moronic denials. Then I'm coming over there -- DIETRICH If you're in such a fucking hurry -- why are you wasting your time with me? I'm just an art dealer. ARCHER You're a dealer, all right: technical secrets, munitions... explosives. DIETRICH You've never proven any of that. And when my bitchy, never-been- laid femi-nazi lawyer gets here, she's going to... ARCHER Time's up. Archer topples the wooden table and tears a leg from the top. Brandishing it -- he stalks the startled thug. HALLWAY JUST OUTSIDE - CONTINUOUS ACTION Lazarro blanches as an obsessed Archer repeatedly slams the table leg against the wall -- above Dietrich's head. LAZARRO The only ticking bomb I see is inside his head. He's getting worse, Tito. TITO Don't worry, sir. It's all an act... But as Lazarro leaves -- we see Tito's worried, too. BACK INSIDE BOOTH Archer has a terrified Dietrich backed into the corner. DIETRICH ... Okay! Castor called me but I blew him off... I swear I never saw him. And I don't know anything about any bomb! INT. CORRIDOR - OUTSIDE INTERROGATION BOOTHS - SAME TIME Archer emerges... eyes blazing. ARCHER Let him go, but I want him watched... Who's next? TITO Just Dietrich's sister... In another booth, a careworn but striking woman sits with a little boy on her lap. She gently helps him Crayola a book. This is SASHA HASSLER (30) and her son ADAM (5). INT. INTERROGATION BOOTH - DAY Archer hovers over Sasha -- her maternal warmth replaced by an icy hatred. Tito and the child are gone. ARCHER When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? SASHA Who cares? He's dead. ARCHER Answer the question. SASHA Look, I'm clean. I teach kids now -- ARCHER Sasha -- you are a felon, on probation for harboring Castor Troy. So it's in your best interest to cooperate. (as she's silent) Would you like your son put in a foster home? Sasha's eyes flash, her body coils -- but she keeps control. SASHA No, but I'm sure you'd love it -- you sick bastard. ARCHER (unmoved) When was the last time you saw Castor Troy? She stares at him with equal amounts of pity and hatred. SASHA I haven't seen him for years. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Archer watches as Adam leaves Dietrich and jumps into Sasha's arms. She hugs him protectively. Adam sees Archer watching them -- and smiles. Archer doesn't smile back. FULL SCREEN - CASTOR'S REAL FACE PULL BACK TO: INT. I.C.U. - NIGHT Archer slowly circles Castor's muscular, hairy, tattooed body. Although on life support -- his signature smirk remains. ARCHER What about Lazarro? BRODIE No way -- the red tape alone would take a month. This is a black-bag operation -- completely off the books. MILLER If you need him, Tito can help you prepare. But you know the drill: You can't tell anyone -- not the Director, not your wife... nobody. Archer's face shows he doesn't like it -- then he nods. ARCHER I'm in. EXT. ARCHER HOME - NIGHT Archer slowly gets out of his car. Trudging toward the front door, he picks up a basketball and takes a shot. His form is terrible -- he misses by a mile. INT. HALLWAY - NIGHT Archer passes Jamie's room. Loud MUSIC POUNDS from within. He pauses to knock, thinks again, then heads down the hall. INT. MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT Eve is in bed. Archer comes in quietly and sits beside her -- studying her peaceful, sleeping face. She stirs. EVE I was dreaming... ARCHER Something good? EVE I'm not sure... you were flying this(...TRUNCATED) | scum | How many times the word 'scum' appears in the text? | 0 |
" \"Face/Off\", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Mi(...TRUNCATED) | tarmac | How many times the word 'tarmac' appears in the text? | 3 |
" \"Face/Off\", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Mi(...TRUNCATED) | glimpses | How many times the word 'glimpses' appears in the text? | 0 |
" \"Face/Off\", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Mi(...TRUNCATED) | man | How many times the word 'man' appears in the text? | 3 |
" \"Face/Off\", production draft, by Mike Werb & Michael Colleary FACE/OFF Written by Mike Werb & Mi(...TRUNCATED) | nod | How many times the word 'nod' appears in the text? | 2 |
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