Oppugn
(working title)
Lisa Stone
Latest draft
23 March 2006
INT.
Late on a dreary
The camera pans the crowded pub, people
talking, smoking fags, ordering more drinks from the bar. The camera picks up a few men playing
darts. The camera follows a dart with a
Union Jack flight to the board. More pub
scenes. Then a second dart hits the dart
board. More pub scenes.
Follow the third dart with the Union Jack
flight as it heads toward the dart board in semi-so-motion. As it hits the board, A LOUD EXPLOSION occurs
inside the pub.
EXT.
Glass and debris flies out of the pub as
people run from the pub, some crawling from the pub.
EXT.
IAIN ROURKE watches from the corner of the
street as the fire trucks, ambulances and police speed to the scene and the
chaos settles to a dull roar of panic.
Iain observes GALVIN MALONE nervously pacing on the opposite side of the
street, straining his neck as he looks in vain for his connection.
Iain reaches into a phone box and speaks
into the phone as he continues to watch Malone.
As the police sirens scream toward the scene, Malone begins walking as
fast as he can away from the mess on the street. Police cars head him off in the opposite
direction and several bobbies jump out and corner Malone against a
building. In a panic, Malone tries to
plead his case as the officers handcuff him and turn him toward the open back
door of the police car.
As Malone is about to lean down into the
car, he glances across the street and sees Iain standing against the building,
watching. Before Malone can utter a
word, the policemen push him into the car and slam the door behind him.
INT.
Dariann Laine and her 4-piece band,
Oppugn, are playing on stage. Dariann is
a beautiful 24-year-old American woman of privileged upbringing. She doesn’t have to earn a living, nor do
most of her friends. On a whim a year
ago, Dariann decided that she wanted to play in a band. Fortunately for her, she has a great voice
for rock and roll and Oppugn, four young British men who Dariann picked out
one-by-one from other bands in
The Warehouse, a large dance club and bar,
is a local hangout for the well-to-do entourage of Dariann, and Dariann has
convinced the owner, a man she knows as Kevin Sloane, to let her and Oppugn be
the house band.
INT. THE WAREHOUSE NIGHTCLUB – AN HOUR
LATER
Oppugn and Dariann’s usual group of
friends and hangers-on are gathered around the bar. Dariann is the center of attention at any
gathering. As they all shoot the crap around
the bar, Dariann notices Kevin, aka GALVIN MALONE, staring at her from the
other end of the bar. Malone is American
but has an Irish accent because he lived in
MALONE
Another good
show, love.
DARIANN
Thank you.
MALONE
Can I buy you a
drink?
DARIANN
Tullamore Dew,
neat.
Malone smiles
broadly.
MALONE
Aye, a girl
after my own heart. I always knew there
was something I liked about you.
Dariann forms a crooked grin at his
foolish flattery. Malone motions to the
bartender to pour Dariann another drink.
Once she has her drink, he lifts his drink
to salute her as he dumps it down his throat.
You draw quite a
crowd here. I should think about giving
you part of the door.
DARIANN
I was thinking
about suggesting it. The boys could use
a few more bucks, I guess.
Malone looks
around at Dariann’s friends.
MALONE
I suspect none
of your friends here need a few more bucks, except for the boys.
DARIANN
What makes you
say that?
MALONE
Oh, I don’t
know. Perhaps it’s the gold money clip
Peter surrounds his hundred dollar bills with.
Or the Gucci pumps your friend Laura sports.
Malone looks around at the others standing
around them again and laughs.
DARIANN
I’ve never
noticed, actually.
MALONE
What do you all
do for fun, then?
Dariann
chuckles.
DARIANN
Get in trouble…
INT. THE WAREHOUSE – AN HOUR LATER
Oppugn finish their last song and bound
down to the bar. Malone is still waiting
there and once they settle down, he presents his idea to Dariann.
MALONE
How would you
and your friends like to get into a little trouble then, just for fun?
Dariann laughs at him.
DARIANN
What kind of
trouble?
MALONE
Well, not really
trouble, just a little game? Like a
scavenger hunt, as it were.
DARIANN
Let’s ask them.
Dariann yells
over the noise to her friends.
Anybody
interested in playing a game?
Everyone stops
talking and turns to hear what she has to say, as PETER asks them to clarify.
PETER
What kind of a
game?
DARIANN
This is Kevin
Sloane, the owner of this joint, and he thinks we’re bored. He asked me if I thought you guys would be
interested in playing a little scavenger hunt-like game.
Everyone grumbles as though it’s not much
of a challenge. Malone senses their
feeling and adds.
MALONE
A more complex
scavenger hunt.
PETER
How complex?
MALONE
As complex as
you chaps think you can handle.
PETER
And what’s the
prize? What’s the goal?
MALONE
Well, since
money doesn’t seem to motivate any of you, I’d say the glory of winning, of
beating all the rest of your mates.
They all look around at each other, giving
it some consideration. Malone tries to
reel them in.
And it gets more
challenging with each level of play.
DARIANN
So what’s in it
for you?
Malone smiles at
her.
MALONE
Well, since I
too am unmotivated by money, I suppose it would just be the entertainment of
watching each of you challenge yourselves and compete against one another.
The bartender motions to the group that
it’s closing time.
Let’s meet back
here tomorrow night and we’ll discuss the rules and regulations of the game.
Everyone nods their heads and Malone
smiles, knowing the game, his game, has begun.
INT. THE WAREHOUSE – THE NEXT EVENING
The gang is assembled around the bar with
their drinks when Malone walks over to them.
MALONE
Okay,
He claps and rubs his hands together.
Here’s the way
the first round will go. First of all,
how many are playing?
MEREDITH
Well, it depends
on what the first round is like.
Everyone laughs and agrees.
MALONE
Okay, then. The object of the game is to meet the
requirements of each round in the time allowed and whoever does not get what
they’re assigned is eliminated. The rest
will go on to the next round. Okay?
Everyone nods quietly.
The first round
is government stationary. You each have
to acquire an envelope, a piece of letterhead, some kind of stationary from the
local, state or federal government. And it
can’t be something you received in the mail.
It has to be crisp and fresh out of the box, no writing on it. Understand?
Everyone looks at each other and then back
at Malone, nodding. Malone smiles.
Great!
DARIANN
And when do we
have to have this by?
MALONE
I’ll make this
easy on you. Today is Tuesday. Let’s say by Friday evening, here.
He points at the ground suggesting that
they meet at The Warehouse.
Now, who’s in?
They all look at each other again and eight
of them raise their hands.
Great! Let the game begin!
They all clank their drink glasses
together and resume their partying.
Dariann and Malone smile at each other in satisfaction that they’re
going to have some fun.
INT. THE WAREHOUSE – THAT FRIDAY EVENING
Malone is standing at the end of the bar,
this time as Dariann approaches. Malone
motions to the bartender to pour Dariann a drink.
MALONE
Evening, m’lady
Malone nods his head to her and Dariann
nods back.
DARIANN
Kevin.
Dariann pulls a barstool over and props
herself up on it. She is wearing a mini
skirt and low-cut blouse. Malone is
obvious in looking her up and down with a smile on his face.
MALONE
You are a very
beautiful woman, Dariann Laine.
Dariann suspiciously looks up from her
drink at him.
DARIANN
Thank you. What do you want?
Dariann means it differently than Malone
takes it.
MALONE
What can I have?
Malone gives her a cheeky grin. Dariann realizes his inference and decides to
play along. She smiles at him.
DARIANN
What do you
think you can get?
Malone steps closer to her and places his
hand on her thigh.
MALONE
I don’t know but
I wouldn’t mind trying to find out.
Just then, five members of the game walk
up with things in their hands and
interrupt them. Dariann and Malone
continue looking into each other’s eyes a few moments longer, ignoring the
interruption, before turning their attention to the group. The group orders their drinks as two more
show up.
Once they all have their drinks, they turn
toward Malone.
MALONE
So, how did we
all do?
The group mumbles, some positively, others
negatively.
Laura, how did
you do?
LAURA steps forward and confidently hands
Malone an envelope from
LAURA
Here ya go!
She turns around and walks back to her
spot next to SANDRA.
MALONE
Okay, and your
friend there next to you? Are you
playing?
SANDRA
Well, I was…
Everyone laughs and chides her. Malone smiles at her.
MALONE
Not as lucky,
huh?
Sandra shakes her head no. JASON steps up and hands Malone a business card from the District
Attorney’s office.
How does
everyone feel about allowing a business card?
It looks new.
Peter steps up
and looks at it.
PETER
I think that’s
okay.
Everyone else nods. Peter hands Malone a large envelope with an embossed return-address from the New
York State Court of Appeals in
MALONE
Hmmmm, very
impressive.
CURT slides an envelope down the bar to Malone. Malone opens the envelope and pulls out a single sheet of letterhead. He displays it for the rest of the group.
The governor’s
office?
Malone sounds
skeptical.
CURT
My old man’s a
lobbyist in
Malone nods and smiles as he replaces the
paper into the envelope.
MALONE
Who else?
Malone points to TOM, who he remembers
seeing earlier in the week but who had not come forward yet.
Are you playing?
Tom looks disgusted, but retains his sense
of humor.
TOM
My dog ate my
homework.
Everyone laughs.
I had it but the
maid threw it out and I didn’t have time to get another one, the bitch!
Malone shakes his head.
Malone begins to laugh and holds up the
opened box to show everyone what
Dariann confidently hands Malone a piece
of letterhead with a seal at the top from the Office of the President of the
The entire group moans “Ooooooooo!” in
amazement. Malone looks at Dariann and
she smiles coolly, as if it were no big deal.
After a moment of silence, Malone turns back to the group.
MALONE
Anyone else in
the game?
No one else comes forward so Malone
summarizes for them.
Okay then, six
of you have successfully completed the first round. On to the second round.
This time, you
each have to bring back a street sign with your name on it!
Malone gives them a few seconds to absorb
what he just said.
LAURA
What do you mean
a street sign?
MALONE
You know, the
sign on the corner that tells you what street you’re on. I think they’re green in this city, but you
don’t have to stay here in the city to get them. As a matter of fact, you probably will
have to go outside of the city to get your name.
CURT
How the hell are
we going to find our names on street signs?
MALONE
I know you are
all resourceful and there are ways to find out what city has a street
named after you. And by the way, no
having a street sign made for you. It
will be pretty obvious.
JASON
We’re just
supposed to steal them?
DARIANN
Not like it’ll
be the first thing you’ve nicked.
They all laugh.
MALONE
Today’s Friday
so let’s say you have to be back here by next Tuesday with your signs.
Again they turn their attention away from
Malone and go back to drinking and mumbling about the game and their next task.
FADE OUT
INT. THE WAREHOUSE – THE NEXT TUESDAY
EVENING
The group is assembling around the
bar. Three of them have signs in different kinds of bags.
MALONE
It looks as
though only three of you have had a successful second round. The next round is going to be a little bit
different.
He pauses and looks at the group. Then he turns to the bar and starts writing
on LITTLE pieces of paper.
I’m going to
write down on these papers your assignments.
One of you is going to be going to
Malone takes a clean ashtray from the bar and crumples each paper into the ashtray. He offers the ashtray to Dariann.
Ladies first…
Dariann closes her eyes and reaches into
the ashtray. She draws a piece of paper
and opens it.
DARIANN
Oooooh,
Malone then offers the ashtray to the two
men and they take their balls of paper from it.
JASON
I’ve got
They all look at Peter.
PETER
I’ve got
DARIANN
Now what?
Malone puts the ashtray back onto the bar
as he begins to explain.
MALONE
Dariann, you
will be visiting the Carrier Dome at
DARIANN
When do we have
to be back?
MALONE
Well, this time
it will be the first two of you who make it back with the photo and the
souvenir.
PETER
Dariann only has
to go upstate. I have to get to
DARIANN
Hey, no
problem. I’ll give you a head start.
Peter gives her a dirty look that she’s
patronizing him. Dariann looks at Malone
and they wink at each other.
INT. CARRIER DOME,
Dariann is posing with a couple of the
Peter is attending an Orioles game and a
ball is hit foul down the first-base line.
Peter leans over the barrier and scoops up the baseball. He turns
and looks at someone further down the line who takes a STILL PICTURE of him
with the ball.
Jason is being escorted from the arena in
handcuffs with a police officer on either side of him. One of the officers has a piece of the
parquet flooring in his hand. Jason is trying
to explain what he was doing.
INT. THE WAREHOUSE – TWO DAYS LATER
Malone and the rest of the group are
already at the club as Dariann and Peter walk in and approach the bar with grocery bags. They both plop their bags onto the bar. Malone directs his greeting to Dariann in
particular.
MALONE
Good to see you
back!
DARIANN
It’s good to be
back, although I did have a good time with those college boys in
Dariann smiles flirtatiously at Malone.
MALONE
And you
Peter? How did you make out in
PETER
The food was
fantastic and the ballgame wasn’t too bad either, considering that the Yankees
beat the snot out of the Orioles.
MALONE
Well, let’s see
what you have.
Peter pulls a Polaroid out of his jacket of his grab at Camden Yards and
Dariann produces an 8”x10” of her
with some of the members of the Syracuse Orangemen football team.
Well done, both
of you. But where is Jason?
CURT
I heard he got
nabbed by the cops for trying to steal some of the flooring at the Gardens.
Everyone laughs.
MALONE
Well then, it
looks like you two are in the finals!
PETER
And what would
the finals be?
MALONE
World traveling
for the two of you?
DARIANN
Cool! Where to?
MALONE
I have two
mates, one in
PETER
MALONE
Sure,
Malone strokes his beard, thinking.
I’ll give you
both clues, but I’ll have to make them up so give me a few minutes.
Dariann and Peter order drinks and they
all stand around with their friends while Malone writes on bar napkins. He pulls out his wallet and takes TWO PHOTOGRAPHS from it. He hands them each a bar napkin and a
photo. They look at them for a few
minutes.
DARIANN
Oh baby! Thanks for giving me the cutie!
Dariann continues to look at the photo and
then to the napkin. Meanwhile, Peter has
read his napkin.
PETER
So I’m supposed
to find this guy from this clue? In a
city the size of
MALONE
Listen, I have
complete faith that you’ll find him.
However, if you haven’t tracked him down in a few days, call me and I’ll
give you more specific details. Here’s
my number.
Malone takes the napkin back and writes on
it.
Dariann, do you
have any questions?
DARIANN
Nope, not at
all.
She grins at Peter.
I’ll have this
guy eating out of my hands in two days.
MALONE
I’ll bet you
will, too.
EXT. AN CITY IN THE ORIENT – AN OPEN-AIR
MARKETPLACE
Rourke is walking through an open-air
market looking as though he is nonchalantly shopping. He enters a booth that sells hand-spun
pottery. He speaks to the owner who
leans behind a counter and produces a
medium-sized clay jug. Rourke
fiddles with some currency and hands it to the man, who smiles and sends him
off with a “thank you.” Rourke nods and
walks out of the booth and continues “shopping.”
INT. ROURKE’S HOTEL IN THE
Rourke puts on a pair of rubber
gloves. He gently breaks the jug with
his fist and pulls out a PDA. He turns
it on, uses the stylus to scroll through it.
He then pulls out another PDA from his breast pocket and points them
toward each other, synching the data from one to the other.
Rourke opens a pen to reveal a small
screwdriver. He uses it to open the
original PDA and remove its electronic circuitry. He puts the PDA back together and places the
circuitry into a padded envelope and seals it.
He addresses the front of the envelope, puts the second PDA back into
his breast pocket, and wraps the original PDA in local newspaper, placing it
into his outside jacket pocket. He
removes his rubber gloves, picks up his luggage and leaves the room.
EXT. ROURKE’S HOTEL IN THE
As Rourke leaves his hotel on the way to
hailing a taxi, he nonchalantly tosses the PDA wrapped in newspaper into a
trash bin.
He hails a taxi and gets in.
EXT.
Dariann is standing on a street corner,
handing out flyers announcing Oppugn playing at a pub the next evening. She has a picture of Rourke and she keeps
looking at it as she hands out her flyers.
Suddenly, she spots Rourke walking toward
her. She purposely walks right up to him
and thrusts a flyer toward him, turning on the charm.
DARIANN
I’ll bet you
don’t get out much.
Rourke smiles at
her.
My band is
playing at The Rose and Crown tomorrow night.
Rourke stops
walking and looks at the flyer.
I’ll bet we play
your kind of music.
ROURKE
You make a lot
of bets.
Dariann gives him
one of her charming smiles.
DARIANN
C’mon, what’d’ya
say? Do you really have something better
to do?
Rourke smiles at her and walks away,
turning back to look at her as he does and Dariann knows she has him hooked.
INT.
Rourke is standing at the bar, chatting
with his friend and partner at MI6, ANDY WINNICK. Oppugn finish their first set and Dariann
bounces over to the bar. The bartender
places a glass on the bar in front of her.
She smiles at Rourke.
DARIANN
Do you like the
music?
ROURKE
Very much
so. Your performance is as much a visual
diversion as it is an auditory one.
Dariann smiles at his observation, her
eyebrows a bit cross. Andy stands behind
him, smiling at the interaction.
DARIANN
Well, I’m not
sure if I should take that as a compliment or not.
ROURKE
Oh, please
do. It’s an enjoyable experience.
The two stand silently staring at each
other for a moment.
BARRY, the drummer, appears from out of
nowhere at Dariann’s side and whispers into her ear. Dariann grins and looks back at Rourke.
DARIANN
I’m sorry, would
you excuse me?
Rourke bows slightly to her as she turns
and follows Barry to the other side of the room.
BARRY
Dariann, I want
you to meet Simon Prescott. He’s
interested in possibly managing the band.
Dariann sits down across from
I like your
band.
DARIANN
Well, it’s our
band, actually.
Dariann looks at
the band and they all smile at her for including them.
Okay then, I
like the band. How’s that, then?
Dariann nods.
And I’d like to
make you a proposition.
Dariann looks at her band mates. They all look naively enthusiastic, but
Dariann is skeptical. She instinctively
doesn’t trust him.
I’ll manage you,
get you gigs and the like, promote you for, say, a sixty-forty split.
Dariann almost chokes and she snorts
sarcastically.
DARIANN
Sixty-forty?
She looks at the guys again and they still
have that wide-eyed innocent look on their faces. Dariann speaks confidently, as she rises and
politely excuses herself from them.
We’ll have to
talk it over and get back to you.
Dariann casually walks back to the stage
where she sits down and looks over the list of songs for the second set. Barry walks over and sits down next to
her. He speaks to her in a disappointed
yet somewhat angry tone.
BARRY
How could you do
that to us?
DARIANN
Do what? All I said was we’d think about it.
BARRY
Yeah, but, this
is the first bloke who’s ever been interested.
Dariann smiles at him.
DARIANN
Look, Barry, we
can all talk about it tonight, but I don’t trust him. We have to be careful. A guy like him could say that he’ll manage us
and then take any money that we do make, small that it is, away from us. Sixty-forty is a joke, Barry. We get fifty pounds for playing here
tonight. Split that five ways, minus his
sixty percent and we end up paying the pub to pay.
She pauses a moment, seeing the hurt look
in Barry’s eyes, then continues.
I just want us to
be careful. That’s all. Do you know how many bands sign with the
first guy that offers and end up with nothing to show for their success?
Dariann waits for Barry to accept what she
has told him, and he finally smiles and nods.
He hugs her and leaves her to join the rest of the band. Dariann looks back to Rourke, who is still
watching her and smiles at him.
INT.
The band finishes up their gig and as they
pack up their equipment, Dariann walks over to the bar and stands next to
Rourke.
DARIANN
So what’d’ya
think?
He turns toward her and smiles.
ROURKE
I think you need
a good manager and I don’t think Mr. Prescott is your man.
DARIANN
How do you know
him?
ROURKE
I know a lot of
people.
DARIANN
And what would
your name be, then?
Rourke pauses for a moment.
ROURKE
My name is
Rourke.
Dariann chuckles.
DARIANN
Is that your
first or last name?
ROURKE
Rourke will do.
DARIANN
Ohhhhh, like
Rourke smiles.
ROURKE
Yeah, just like
them.
DARIANN
Well, Just
Rourke, if
Rourke laughs.
ROURKE
Indeed not! I know enough about music to know you and
you’re band are quite good, and that
Dariann acts surprised.
DARIANN
Really! So what is it you do do, then?
Again Rourke pauses, obviously evading her
question.
ROURKE
What are you
doing after this?
She ignores his question.
DARIANN
So I shouldn’t
trust
ROURKE
Implicitly! And besides, you didn’t trust
Rourke is confident and Dariann blinks in
shock with no immediate comeback for his remark.
DARIANN
Uh, I have to
get back to packing up.
She motions with her thumb over her
shoulder at the stage, but still staring at him.
We, the band
that is, have some things we need to discuss tonight.
ROURKE
Ah, you mean you
need to convince the lads that
Dariann tilts her head, glints at him and
takes a deep breath.
DARIANN
I have to help
the guys.
Rourke smiles and nods, as Dariann turns
and walks away.
INT. A FEW MOMENTS LATER
Dariann looks back to see that Rourke and
his friend are gone. She is left with an
uneasy feeling.
EXT.
Peter is walking along a residential street, looking down at a piece of paper
and back up to the house numbers. He
stops at one house and knocks on the door.
The door opens, Peter speaks to the unseen person inside, and walks into
the house.
INT. MI6 HEAQUARTERS – PATRICK FLANNIGAN’S
OFFICE – THE NEXT DAY
Andy and Rourke are standing in Patrick Flannigan’s office. He is their supervisor at MI6.
PATRICK
Where do we
stand with the latest transaction.
ANDY
Delivered on
time.
ROURKE
I’m supposed to
meet with Donal on Friday in Finaghy.
He’ll take it from there.
PATRICK
And the
re-coding?
ANDY
The lab should
be done with it by Thursday.
PATRICK
Cutting it
close!
Patrick smiles nervously.
Don’t botch this
up! They’ve been uneasy lately.
ROURKE
No worries.
PATRICK
Okay, get out of
here.
ANDY
Aye, aye,
captain.
Andy salutes Patrick as he and Rourke
leave Patrick’s office.
OUTSIDE OF PATRICK’S OFFICE
Andy semi-whispers to Rourke.
ANDY
Don’t botch this
up? What’s he think we do all day?
INT.
Oppugn are playing at a small club in the
Dariann nods at Rourke.
DARIANN
Just Rourke.
ROURKE
Dariann.
They stand quietly watching the other
people in the bar. A male FAN walks over
and sheepishly addresses Dariann.
FAN
I just wanted to
tell you how much I enjoy your band.
Dariann looks at Rourke out of the corner
of her eye, then back to the fan.
DARIANN
Well, thank
you. I’m glad you like us.
FAN
Do you have a CD
or something?
DARIANN
No, not
yet. Our manager here
She takes Rourke by the arm, suggesting
that he is their manager.
has been lax in
getting us a contract, haven’t you?
The fan addresses Rourke in an angry tone.
FAN
Well, you sir,
should be replaced! This band is
incredible and you are not doing them any justice.
Rourke turns and looks at Andy, who tries
to hold back his laughter. The fan turns
back to Dariann.
As soon as you
get yourself a decent manager and put out a CD, I’ll be the first in line to
buy it.
DARIANN
Well, thank you
very much. We’ll be looking into getting
a new manager ASAP.
The fan turns and walks away as Andy
finally bursts out laughing and Dariann smiles up at Rourke as she lets go of
his arm and plays with her drink.
So, you still
haven’t told me what you do do to earn your living.
ROURKE
No, I haven’t,
but it appears I’ve just been sacked from my last job. I’ll be updating my CV as soon as I get home.
He notices her
waiting for his answer.
Does it matter?
Dariann thinks a moment.
DARIANN
I guess it
doesn’t, but it begs the question of what’s so secretive about your day job
that you won’t tell me what it is?
ROURKE
So, can I buy
you a cup of coffee tonight?
Dariann examines his face for a second, a
bit perturbed by his evasiveness.
DARIANN
We’ll see.
She picks her drink up off of the bar and
starts to walk away. She turns suddenly
and excitedly back toward him.
Oh, I’ve got
it! You’re family’s independently
wealthy. Or no, better yet, you’re
royalty. Yeah, that’s it! You’re really Prince Rourke, long lost
illegitimate brother of Charles and Andrew.
I knew it!
Dariann bows and kisses his hand. Before she arises, she backs away from him
and walks to the other side of the room to sit with the guys. Rourke can’t help but bust out laughing and
shakes his head.
ANDY
What the bloody
hell are you doing?
Andy is laughing himself. Rourke, still laughing, turns toward Andy but
keeps his eyes on Dariann.
ROURKE
I haven’t a
clue!
Rourke stops laughing and looks ashamedly
at Andy. Then looks away.
She is a bit too intelligent for her own good, isn’t
she? For my own good…
ANDY
You can’t get involved in this, mate!
Rourke
thinks out loud to Andy.
ROURKE
I can’t tell her my occupation and I can’t take her
home.
ANDY
Sounds like you’ve been doing this too long, mate.
Rourke sighs.
ROURKE
I’d just like to have a nice, normal relationship
with a woman I can trust and talk to without lying all the time.
ANDY
This doesn’t sound like the other birds you pick up.
ROURKE
I miss having an intelligent conversation with a
woman. And this one’s so bloody funny… and beautiful.
Rourke
begins to laugh again at her last remark.
He turns to look at Andy.
What do you do when you meet a sexy, beautiful,
funny girl like this one?
A
cheeky grin forms on Andy’s face.
I mean besides that.
I mean, emotionally.
ANDY
What bloke wouldn’t want a bird like that one to
shag a few hundred times before you let her go?
Rourke
gives him a disgusted look.
I’ll tell you what mate, if you don’t snag her, I
will.
Rourke’s
look turns to one of a threat as he turns his body to face Andy directly and
Andy begins to laugh mockingly since he’s quite a bit bigger than Rourke and
knows he wouldn’t hit him anyway.
INT.
DARIANN
Mmmmmm, the
coffee’s hot. Do you always drink coffee
this late at night?
ROURKE
We could go have
alcoholic drinks instead, if you’d like.
Dariann plays hard to get.
DARIANN
Why would we do
either?
Rourke smiles at her and decides to play
her game.
ROURKE
Why are you
here?
DARIANN
Hey,
She raises her cup to him.
a free cup of
coffee. So what is it again that you do
during the day?
ROURKE
I’m in imports
and exports.
DARIANN
See, that wasn’t
so hard, was it? But I don’t believe you
for a second.
She sips her coffee and Rourke tilts his
head.
ROURKE
Why don’t you
believe me?
DARIANN
Because imports
and exports is not something that people try to hide. If that is what you really do, why
didn’t you just tell me when I asked the first time? It also sounds like when a friend of mine
back in the States tells me he works for a greeting card business, like Maxwell
Smart.
ROURKE
Touché!
Rourke smiles.
DARIANN
Alright, I’ll
let you off the hook for now. So tell
me, is your accent Irish or English? I
detect a hint of both.
ROURKE
Bite your
tongue, woman! It’s a sacrilege to
suggest that an Irishman sounds like a bloody Brit!
He sounds serious but Dariann isn’t afraid
of him.
DARIANN
(in a mockingly
formal tone)
I do apologize
for offending you.
(in a tone of
interrogation)
So which is it?
Rourke smiles.
ROURKE
I’m originally
from West Belfast, but I’ve lived here in England for many years.
DARIANN
West
Belfast? Really? Why would an Irishman move to the hated
mother country?
He begins to say something but Dariann
cuts him off.
Oh, that’s
right, imports and exports.
Rourke nods.
ROURKE
Imports and
exports. Besides, Ireland has no mother
country.
He hesitates a moment, then mumbles to
himself.
At least it
shouldn’t.
DARIANN
I’m sorry if
I’ve touched a nerve.
Rourke obviously changes the subject.
ROURKE
Oppugn… That’s a
very unusual name for a band. I assume
you named it?
Dariann nods her head.
Why did you name
it Oppugn?
Dariann sits back and thinks about how to
describe it.
DARIANN
I’ve always been
the sort who needs to be shown before I can believe so I tend to challenge, or
at least question, everything I’m told or taught.
ROURKE
Ah, an
antagonist.
DARIANN
I’d like to
think more people challenged what they’re told rather than just accepting
it. Like my mother, who reads the
National Intruder and believes what they tell her. Or Catholics who were taught catechism and
never asked what it all meant.
ROURKE
Wow! You’ve given this way more thought than I
gave you credit for.
Dariann glares her eyes at him as if
offended. After a moment of silence,
Rourke changes the subject.
ROURKE
So, did you and
the boys decide to let Prescott represent you?
DARIANN
Yeah,
right! Well, it was tough convincing the
guys but I told them that someone I knew on good authority said that Prescott
wasn’t worth sixty-forty.
She grins at him.
ROURKE
Ah, using me as
your scapegoat already. And you don’t
even know me.
DARIANN
Yeah, so tell me
what I need to know about the mysterious Mr. Rourke.
ROURKE
Why don’t you
tell me about you instead?
Dariann takes another sip of coffee and
picks at her gateau.
DARIANN
Alright, I’ll
let you off the hook again, but all of this avoidance does not make for a good
relationship.
Dariann looks up at him and he sits back
with a half grin on his face.
EXT. PARIS – SAME RESIDENTIAL NEIGBORHOOD –
NIGHT
Two men carry a duffle bag in the shape of
a human body out of the house and throw it into the trunk of a car waiting out
front. As they look around themselves
suspiciously, they slam the trunk lid and get into the car as it drives off.
INT. LONDON – COFFEE SHOP – A FEW NIGHTS
LATER
Dariann and Rourke walk into a coffee shop
and as they sit down at a table, Rourke motions to the waiter for coffee.
DARIANN
So I’ve told you
everything you could possibly need to know about moi. What about you?
ROURKE
There’s not
really much to tell.
DARIANN
Well, do you
have any siblings?
ROURKE
Ey, I have two
brothers and a sister. Had two
brothers, I should say. Tommy was killed
during a skirmish.
Rourke looks down at the table.
DARIANN
I’m sorry. So how’s the import/export business?
Rourke smiles.
ROURKE
It has its ups
and downs.
DARIANN
So, what’s the
deal with your friend at the bar?
Rourke laughs.
ROURKE
You mean
Andy? He’s my par… a friend. He’s a friend I’ve known for a long time.
Dariann picks up the slip Rourke makes and
gives him an eye.
DARIANN
So, is he
married?
ROURKE
No, not married.
Why, are you interested?
Dariann smiles that Rourke would ask her
that as they sit together on a sort of “date.”
DARIANN
Well, you never
know. He’s not bad looking and he has a
nice smile.
They sit quietly for a moment.
So, you know I’m
dying to know what you do for a living.
Are you independently wealthy or what?
ROURKE
Would you like
me any less if I told you that I am?
DARIANN
Who said I like
you anyway?
He ignores her comment.
ROURKE
I choose not to
tell you because it’s inconsequential. I
wouldn’t like to think that you judge people by how they make their money.
Dariann sighs.
DARIANN
It doesn’t have
anything to do with judging you. I’m
just curious, that’s all. And I have a
feeling you just like to keep me guessing.
Rourke smiles deviously at her, his eyes
sparkling with pleasure.
ROURKE
So how do you
manage to support yourself while you’re here, if you don’t mind me asking?
DARIANN
I sell my flesh
in Soho.
She waits for Rourke’s reaction. He leans forward and looks at her with a
straight face.
ROURKE
And I’ll wager
you don’t get a fraction of what you’re worth either.
She speaks as if he never made the
comment.
DARIANN
When I’m here in
London, I share a flat with the guys. As
you can imagine, the gigs don’t do much to put food on the table.
ROURKE
I’ll bet the
guys don’t mind sharing a flat with a woman as beautiful as you.
She
ignores his comment again.
DARIANN
Since I’m not
here all of the time, the guys just let me crash with them when I am. They’re a great bunch of guys, but none of
them are my type.
ROURKE
Ah, so what is
your type, Dariann?
Dariann smiles a cheeky grin at him as she
leans toward him and speaks softly, drawing him in. Her eyes follow his features as she speaks,
as if she is describing him.
DARIANN
Hmmmm, tall,
handsome, nice smile, good sense of humour, beautiful eyes…
Dariann sits up abruptly and continues in
a normal tone.
But I digress. Sooo, do you live in London?
Rourke looks frustrated but sighs in his
response.
ROURKE
Yes, I do.
DARIANN
What part?
Rourke sighs deeply again, trying to stall
with his answer.
ROURKE
Is that
important to you also?
DARIANN
Oh, c’mon,
you’re not going to evade this question too, are you?
Rourke just stares at her. Dariann gets angry.
You’re married,
aren’t you?!
Rourke crosses his brows in confusion.
ROURKE
No, no, I’m not
married.
He smiles that she would think he is the
cheating sort.
DARIANN
You won’t tell
me your full name, or what you really do for a living, and now you won’t tell
me where you live. What else could it
be?
ROURKE
I live in
Knightsbridge.
Dariann quiets down and focuses her
attention back on her coffee.
DARIANN
Really?!
There is awkward silence so he tries to
make small talk.
ROURKE
So where is the
band playing next?
She sighs.
DARIANN
We have one more
gig here tomorrow and then we’re off to the States.
Rourke is surprised, and annoyed that he
doesn’t already know about it.
ROURKE
Really?
He fidgets with his cup of coffee.
How long will
you be there?
DARIANN
Oh, I don’t
know. I may not come back. Depends on how well we do while we’re there.
Rourke is strangely quiet as he takes a
deep breath and avoids her gaze. He
finally smiles at her, sort of a fake smile.
ROURKE
So this might be
it, eh? Forced to remember you by the
coffee shop booths we’ve occupied.
There is an odd feeling of impending doom
that washes over Rourke.
EXT. LONDON – 2AM
Dariann and Rourke quietly walk along the
dark London streets, more slowly than usual.
They approach Dariann’s flat and Rourke turns to her, standing between
her and the door to the building.
ROURKE
It’s a pity
you’re going back to the States.
DARIANN
Yeah? Why is that?
ROURKE
Well, who am I
to drink coffee with now?
They stand silently staring at each
other. Rourke slowly wraps his right
hand around her neck and gently pulls her mouth to his. He kisses her and then backs away from
her. She stands silently with her eyes
closed, breathing deeply, before she looks up at him, taking one last deep
breath before speaking.
DARIANN
I’ve got it
now! You’re a professional, right?
Rourke raises his head with a laugh.
ROURKE
I might ask the
same about you, my love. Was I out of
line?
DARIANN
For kissing me
or for waiting so long to do so?
Again he smiles and kisses her one last,
long time before he walks away.
INT. LONDON – OPPUGN’ FLAT
Barry is the first to see Dariann walk
through the door.
BARRY
Ay, you’re
finally home. Were you out with that
mystery guy again?
TAYLOR yells from across the room to her.
TAYLOR
Hey, Dari, when
are you two going to settle down and raise some kids?
DARIANN
Oh, c’mon you
guys, it’s nothing like that.
She walks across the room toward Taylor on
the couch.
TAYLOR
Really? Well, I’d say the bloke finally kissed you, I
would.
Barry looks closer at her.
BARRY
Yeah, I see what
you mean. She’s got that bleary-eyed
kinda look about her and her lips is all red and swollen.
Dariann grabs a pillow off of the couch,
swings and hits Barry across the head, then throws it at Taylor.
DARIANN
Cut it out you
guys. We’re going to be in the States
for a month. I guess he just wanted to
say goodbye.
BARRY
Oh, like he’s
not going to show up at the gig tomorrow night?
CLOSE-UP OF DARIANN
Dariann is contemplating what she has to
do before she leaves London.
INT. MI6 HEDQUARTERS – GUARD’S DESK – THE
NEXT MORNING
Rourke hands his gun to the guard and
walks through the metal detector. The
guard hands him back his gun.
Camera focuses on the “Seal of MI6” on the
wall as Rourke walks down the hall.
INT. MI6 COMPUTER LAB
Rourke is in the computer lab talking to
ADAM, the software developer who has worked on the code from the PDA. Adam hands the PDA back to Rourke.
ADAM
Great stuff!
ROURKE
Is it complete?
ADAM
It was
complete, but now all they’ll get is a little “poof.”
Adam enacts the sound of the “poof.”
It still has the
lack of detectable fuse feature but the magnitude of the explosion will be far
less.
ROURKE
Great! And you’ve wiped it from this?
Rourke holds up
the PDA.
ADAM
Yes,
m’lord. It is all on here, now.
Adam hands Rourke a small plastic device
that looks like a keychain fob.
ROURKE
What’s this?
Rourke looks the key fob over.
ADAM
It’s called a
Flash Drive. It can hold up to 256
megabytes of data. And now it has your
bomb on it. The IRA is gonna be pissed
when they use this code.
Adam is quite proud of himself.
ROURKE
Hmmmm, we’ll
see.
Rourke gets up to go.
Thanks a lot,
mate.
ADAM
Any time,
Rourke.
INT. LONDON – ANOTHER NIGHTCLUB – THAT
NIGHT
The band finishes their set and begins
breaking down the equipment. Dariann
waves goodbye to them and meets Rourke by the doorway. They step outside.
EXT. LONDON STREETS
ROURKE
Let’s go
someplace else, shall we?
DARIANN
Someplace else?
ROURKE
Sure. It’s our last night together, for a while
anyway. And it has coffee.
He offers her his arm and she hesitantly
slips her hand through the crook of his elbow.
INT. KNIGHTSBRIDGE – ROURKE’S FLAT
Rourke is standing in his kitchen.
ROURKE
Would you like
some coffee, or something else? I have
beer, wine.
DARIANN
A beer would be
fine.
Rourke is fiddling with bottles and
glasses. Dariann walks over and offers
to pour them while he turns his attention to the stereo. He returns and she hands him a pint.
So, whose place
is this?
ROURKE
It’s mine. Why?
DARIANN
You’re trying to
tell me that this is your place?
ROURKE
Why wouldn’t it
be?
DARIANN
Well, it’s one
of those many subjects you’ve tried to avoid.
She looks around.
It could use a
feminine touch, if you don’t mind me saying so.
ROURKE
I don’t spend
that much time at home, so I don’t really need much.
DARIANN
A busy import
export business, huh?
ROURKE
Right! Exactly!
Keeps me very busy.
DARIANN
But you always
manage to make it to our shows. How is
that?
ROURKE
Well, one has to
set one’s priorities. If one appreciates
good music, one will make the effort to follow it wherever it takes one.
Rourke tries to disguise a deep yawn as
Dariann smiles even wider inside, knowing it won’t be long before she loses him
completely.
Rourke puts his pint down, steps closer to
her and begins to kiss her passionately.
Dariann can’t help but lose herself in his kiss. They become entangled in each others’ clothes
and they start to undress each other.
After a few minutes, Rourke backs away from her, excuses himself and
drowsily walks to the couch. He barely
makes it there when he collapses onto the couch. Dariann smiles.
Dariann stalls a few minutes, pulling her
clothes back on and straightening up before she walks over to the couch. She
lifts one of his eyelids to make sure he’s really out cold. She puts her beer down on the coffee table
and begins undressing him and messes up his hair, to make it look to him as
though they actually had gotten down to business. She caresses his chest gently.
DARIANN
What a
waste… This could’ve been fun.
Dariann stands and begins snooping around
the flat, flipping papers and opening cabinet doors and drawers. She searches his clothes and finds his
PDA. She unzips it and turns it on. A large grin forms on her lips and she shoves
it into her pocket. She searches his
pants pocket and finds his keys with a fuzzy rabbit’s foot on the key ring.
So he can’t
follow me in his car.
She shoves the keys into her jacket pocket
as she puts it on, leans down and kisses him on the forehead before she walks
out the door.
INT. LONDON – OPPUGN’ FLAT – AN HOUR LATER
Dariann is packing up her suitcases and
only Taylor is still awake.
TAYLOR
You leavin’ so
early, Dari?
DARIANN
Yeah, I thought
I’d get a jump on the rush hour to Heathrow.
I’ll see you guys tomorrow in New York.
TAYLOR
Yeah, okay.
Dariann takes one last long look around
the flat and picks up her suitcases. She
turns and walks out the door.
INT. HEATHROW AIRPORT – EARLY MORNING
Dariann is sitting in the airport at the
gate of her flight playing with the PDA she took from Rourke’s flat. More and more people are filling up the gate
area.
ATTENDANT (V.O.)
Attention,
British Air customers! We will begin
boarding in a few minutes. Please have
your boarding passes ready.
Dariann gathers her carry-on and jacket as
Rourke shows up at the gate. He looks
and feels like hell from the drugged beer.
Dariann doesn’t see him and he watches her from across the room. He is still groggy and just as he is about to
approach her, he spots KEITH MILLER, a guy he knows as one of Malone’s men,
standing off to the side, watching Dariann also. Rourke now believes that Dariann and Malone’s
man are together and he is in no shape to fight with either of them so he backs
off and watches as they both board the flight.
INT. BRITISH AIR FLIGHT 6308 TO NEW YORK
CITY – SIX HOURS LATER
Dariann is reading a novel, unaware that
Keith Miller is sitting three rows behind her, watching her every move. Suddenly she hears a beeping noise coming
from her bag. She opens it up and pulls
out the PDA. She unzips the case and
reads on the screen: “YOU HAVE ONE NEW
MESSAGE!”
She touches the screen with her finger and
another message appears: “I WILL DOUBLE
WHATEVER THEY ARE PAYING YOU FOR THE RETURN OF WHAT YOU’RE HOLDING IN YOUR HAND
AND THE KEYS. CALL ME AT 011 44 171
349864.”
Dariann looks up and stares blankly at the
ceiling of the airplane. She turns the
PDA off and puts it back into her bag. She pulls the key FOB out of her pocket
and plays with it, thinking.
EXT. NYC – LAGUARDIA AIRPORT – NOON
Dariann retrieves her luggage and heads
for the parking garage.
INT. NYC - DARIANN’S APARTMENT – AN HOUR
LATER
Dariann picks up her cordless phone and
dials a number.
DARIANN
Elvin, hey, it’s
Dariann. Do you have a minute? I have something I need you to look at for
me. I don’t know what the heck it is but
if I know you, you’ll know right away.
Great! I’ll be right over.
EXT. NYC - ELVIN KIRBY’S HOUSE – AN HOUR
LATER
ELVIN opens the door and shows Dariann
inside.
INT. NYC - ELVIN KIRBY’S HOUSE
Elvin takes the PDA from Dariann and docks
it into a cradle next to a computer as Dariann watches.
ELVIN
Where did you get
this thing?
DARIANN
Why, is it that
old?
ELVIN
Are you
kidding? This is the newest technology
out there. I’m just wondering where you
got it from.
DARIANN
You wouldn’t
believe me if I told you.
ELVIN
We’ve got a few
minutes. Try me!
DARIANN
Well, the guy
who owns The Warehouse, Kevin Sloane, two months ago challenged a bunch of us
to a scavenger hunt of sorts and the last thing I was supposed to do was pick
this guy’s pocket while I was over in London.
He said the guy was an old friend and that this was just a practical
joke. Well, this is what I ended up
getting from the guy, but now I’m beginning to think that this is much more
than just a little computer, or whatever it is.
ELVIN
Well, it has a
GPS, Internet accessibility, Microsoft Office and a cell phone. But there’s not much on here in the way of
data except phone numbers and calendar stuff.
Elvin looks up at her with a lost
look. Dariann is fiddling with the
rabbit’s foot and it breaks in half.
She thinks she’s broken it but Elvin recognizes that the end of it is a
USB connection.
DARIANN
What is this?
Elvin smiles and takes it away from her.
ELVIN
Ah, I love these
things. They’re called Thumb Drives or
Jump Drives. You can store data on these
things and carry them around in your pocket.
Elvin Looks at it for a minute then plugs
the FOB into the USB port of his PC and calls up the data. He smiles at the monitor.
Well, what this
is is an encrypted code of some sort.
DARIANN
Can you tell
what it’s for?
Dariann walks around behind Elvin, who is
sitting at the computer, and looks at the code on the monitor.
ELVIN
First I have to
decode it, then I might be able to tell you what it’s for. Listen, let me spend a little time with it
and I’ll let you know what we’ve got. Do
you have a timeframe?
DARIANN
Well, I’m
supposed to get something to the guy at The Warehouse as soon as I get
back to win the contest. But I got this
message from its owner saying that he’ll pay me to give it back to him.
ELVIN
What did he
want?
Dariann holds up
the PDA.
DARIANN
This thing and
the keys.
ELVIN
Looks to me like
he’d want this jump drive more than the keys.
Okay, well, I’ll give you a call tomorrow and let you know. Here,
Elvin puts the two halves of the jump
drive/rabbit’s foot back together and hands it to her.
Take these with
you.
Dariann nods in agreement and Elvin walks
her to the door.
INT. NYC - DARIANN’S APARTMENT – LATER
THAT EVENING
Dariann walks into the living room in a
terrycloth bathrobe, toweling her wet hair.
She sits down on the couch and begins to sift through her mail. She doesn’t notice that Rourke is sitting in
a chair on the other side of the room.
ROURKE
Is my package in
there?
Dariann jumps up off of the couch and
strikes a defensive pose at Rourke. He
is still sitting casually.
DARIANN
What the hell
are you doing here?
ROURKE
I want my
things?
DARIANN
What things?
ROURKE
Whatever Malone
is paying you isn’t enough to die for.
DARIANN
What
are you talking about? And who is
Malone?
ROURKE
The guy who paid
you to grab the PDA and rabbit’s foot.
DARIANN
No one is paying
me anything.
ROURKE
Then it’s really
not worth dying for.
DARIANN
Why do you keep
saying that?
ROURKE
Because that’s
what he’ll do once you hand it over to him.
DARIANN
His name is
Kevin Sloane.
ROURKE
Who’s name is
Kevin Sloane?
Dariann realizes what she has admitted to
and shuts up.
I must say,
you’re a fine actress, Dariann. You
honestly had me believing you were a naive young woman who…
DARIANN
I don’t know
what you’re talking about.
ROURKE
Dariann…
Rourke shakes his head at her and she
tries to change the subject and the mood.
DARIANN
What are you,
Rourke Powers, International Man of Mystery?
Ya know, I’m kinda getting tired of these little games you like to play!
ROURKE
Oh, these are
certainly no games, my love. And
speaking of games…
Rourke stands up and walks over to her.
You have no idea
what you’re getting yourself into here.
Your Kevin Sloane is not just some guy in a bar playing games with you
and your friends.
DARIANN
What is it to
you what I get into anyway?
Dariann backs away from him as he slowly
approaches where she is standing.
ROURKE
Well, after all
of the time we spent together, all the laughs we had, all the coffee we
drank… I think you owe me some
thing.
He steps closer to her and she responds
nervously.
DARIANN
I don’t owe you
squat, now get out of here!
Dariann continues to back away from him
slowly.
ROURKE
Oh Dariann, you
can’t get rid of me that easily. You
know what I’m here for.
He changes his tone of voice.
You know what,
Dariann? I don’t believe we ever
consummated our relationship?
DARIANN
Well, of course
we did. Don’t you remember?
ROURKE
I remember
having a pint with a lovely woman in my flat and the next thing I know, it’s
eight o’clock in the bloody morning, the woman is gone, and I have a headache
the size of Dublin.
Dariann tries to diffuse things by joking.
DARIANN
So you drank too
much. It’s okay, it happens to a lot of
guys.
ROURKE
It doesn’t
happen to me, Dariann. It doesn’t happen
when I’m about to make love to a beautiful woman.
DARIANN
Rather
presumptuous, aren’t you?
He steps closer and she backs up further,
running out of room against the wall.
ROURKE
What did you put
in my beer, Dariann?
Her back hits the wall and he slams his
hands against the wall on either side of her, forming a cage around her.
DARIANN
What are you
talking about? I didn’t put anything in
your beer.
ROURKE
Dariann, lovely
Dariann, let me say this to you just once.
His lowers his face to within millimeters
of hers as if he is going to kiss her.
Since you don’t
know anything about me, I would suggest you assume the worst.
He stops for a moment, letting what he
just said sink in. He becomes lost in
their closeness and she stands silently.
Recovering, he moves his mouth next to her ear.
Now, what you
put in my drink is not important because I know what it was. What I want, with not an argument about it,
is my PDA and that rabbit’s foot.
Dariann suddenly realizes that Rourke
knows for sure that she took it.
Without warning, Rourke spins her around
so that she is standing with her back against his chest. He obviously inhales the smell of her hair
and becomes lost in the scent for a moment.
Regaining his composure, he pulls her arms across her chest in opposite
directions as if in a straightjacket. He
leans over and places his mouth next to her ear again.
You’re wondering
if I’ll kill you once you give me back my stuff. Well, let’s just say that I will kill you if
you don’t give them to me.
DARIANN
And to think I
almost slept with you.
Behind her, Rourke can’t help but smile
that even with being threatened with bodily harm, and possibly death, she still
has a sense of humour. He rolls his
eyes, then he realizes that she isn’t afraid of him, which frustrates him and
his grin turns to a frown.
C’mon, Rourke,
if you kill me you’ll never get the code back, right?!
Dariann suddenly realizes that she’s said
too much again.
I mean…
ROURKE
So you do know
what’s on it…
He stands holding her for a few moments
longer before he slowly releases her.
She winces as she flexes her shoulders and continues moving away from
him.
DARIANN
What if I did
have it? I might have already sold
it. I might not have it any longer.
ROURKE
You’re not as
stupid as you would like people to think you are. Even if you sold it, you would still have a
copy.
DARIANN
Like I’d tell
you.
Rourke threateningly starts toward her
again and she acquiesces. She holds her
hands straight out in front of her as if to stop him.
Okay, okay! We won’t go there.
ROURKE
Either you are
the best damned actress or you’re in way over your head. You don’t understand with whom you’re
dealing.
DARIANN
Nor do I care.
ROURKE
You’d better
start caring, you stupid woman.
DARIANN
Just get out of
my house.
ROURKE
I want my data
back and you’d be well advised to heed my warning. Malone won’t let you walk away when he sees
what you’ve brought him.
He stands and looks at her for a long
moment in silence before he turns and heads for the door.
INT. NYC - ELVIN KIRBY’S HOUSE – THE NEXT
DAY
Elvin is introducing Dariann to RENNA
DANNON, a chemical engineer who Elvin had met on-line several years earlier.
ELVIN
Dariann, this is
Renna. She’s looked at the code and she
says that it’s only partial.
DARIANN
What does that
mean?
RENNA
Well, some of
the code is missing. And it looks as
though whoever removed it knew what they were doing. There’s enough there for me to be able to
tell you that it’s for a weapon.
DARIANN
What kind of
weapon?
RENNA
It appears to be
an explosive that has no traces of the catalyst.
ELVIN
You still have
the fob, right?
DARIANN
Yeah.
ELVIN
I’d get rid of
it… NOW! Why did this guy ask you to get
it?
DARIANN
Well, all he
really said was I should grab something personal, like keys. I thought it was just a practical joke. At least that’s what he said it was. But now…
ELVIN
Dariann, if I
were you I’d get rid of the thing and forget about the whole …
Before Elvin can complete his sentence,
the door behind them bursts open and A GUNMAN steps in. He fires a few shots from a semi-automatic
rifle and instantly kills Elvin and Renna.
Just as he turns toward Dariann, he falls to the floor, dead.
Rourke steps through the door, drags the
gunman’s body into the house and shuts the door behind him. He walks through the house, shooting every
hard drive he can find, with a silencer on his gun, before he grabs Dariann and
drags her out of the house with him, kicking and screaming.
INT. DARIANN’S APARTMENT – THIRTY MINUTES
LATER
Rourke is sitting in the same chair in the
living room as before as Dariann sits on the couch opposite him. They say nothing to each other. Dariann is obviously upset and feeling badly
that she didn’t heed Rourke’s warning before her friends were
killed. Her sadness turns to anger.
DARIANN
I so want out of
this mess.
ROURKE
It’s a little
late for that now. Malone knows that
you’ve had someone checking out the code and one of his men is dead because of
it. What did your friends tell you about
the code?
Dariann grits her teeth.
DARIANN
Nothing.
Rourke closes his eyes and angrily takes a
deep breath.
ROURKE
Dariann, don’t
you see that you can’t just make this right anymore? Malone isn’t going to let you just walk away
now that he knows you know that what you took from me is something more than a
toy.
DARIANN
Well, I don’t
have any other choice.
ROURKE
Look, I don’t
want to ransack your lovely apartment here, but if you don’t hand over the fob
and let me handle this, you’re in for a lot worse than has already gone down.
DARIANN
I don’t have
it here.
Rourke sits back in his chair and rubs his
face, trying to decide if she’s lying or not.
INT. DARIANN’S APARTMENT – NINE P.M. THAT
EVENING
Dariann thinks that if she can get Rourke
outside the apartment, she can elude him and get to The Warehouse.
DARIANN
Okay,
Dariann stands up.
I’ll take you to
where it is.
Rourke’s sixth sense tells him something
is amiss but he goes along with it. He
stands up and they leave the apartment.
EXT. NYC – STREETS BETWEEN DARIANN’S APT
AND THE WAREHOUSE
Dariann is walking ahead of Rourke, trying
to quickly figure out how she can get rid of him. As they reach an intersection, she sees her
chance between cars. She jumps out in
front of a moving bus and Rourke is forced to wait until the bus passes before
he can cross the street. By the time he
is clear of the bus, Dariann is far away from him down the street. He begins to try to chase her but she ducks
into a doorway and he loses her. Once
Rourke passes her, she ducks back out onto the street. She pulls a cell phone out of her pocket and
dials a number.
DARIANN
(into the phone)
Yes, have the
message say: I will be at The Warehouse in ten minutes to accept my prize… From
Dariann.
As she hangs up, she stops and looks up at
the sky, trying to figure out if she’s doing the right thing, and sighs.
INT. THE WAREHOUSE – FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER
Dariann is nervously pacing around the
bar. Malone shows up at the doorway and
Dariann straightens up so she doesn’t look so nervous. Malone greets her with a huge smile and a hug
and a kiss on the cheek.
MALONE
Dariann, how are
you? How was your stay in London? I expected you back here sooner.
DARIANN
Well, I had to
visit my mother when I got back and I just haven’t had a chance to stop
in. Did Peter get back from Paris yet?
MALONE
No, I haven’t
seen him yet. So what did you manage to
nick off of Rourke?
Dariann smiles and she pulls the PDA out
of her coat.
Was it difficult
to get?
DARIANN
Piece of
cake. Listen, I’d like to stay and chat
but I can’t. I have to meet an old
friend.
MALONE
Well, that’s a
shame. I was so looking forward to
hearing all about your trip. How was my
old friend Rourke, then?
DARIANN
He was fine, I
guess. Seemed like a nice guy.
MALONE
Yeah, that
Rourke, what a guy. Can’t wait to break
the news to him about who pulled the wool over his eyes this time.
Dariann smiles.
DARIANN
Yeah, I’m sure
he’ll be surprised.
Before Dariann can move to walk away,
Rourke steps up right behind Malone.
Malone lurches because Rourke has shoved a pistol into his back. Rourke reaches over Malone’s shoulder and
slowly takes the PDA away from Malone.
Dariann doesn’t move.
ROURKE
(to Dariann)
Where are my
keys?
DARIANN
In the Hudson
River?
ROURKE
Including the
little green “rabbit’s foot?” My nephew
gave that to me, you know?
Dariann stares at him for moment.
DARIANN
No, I kept that
for good luck.
Dariann pulls the FOB from her pants
pocket and hands it to Rourke. Malone’s
eyes grow large at the sight of the jump drive.
ROURKE
Let’s go have a
drink, shall we?
Rourke motions with his head and Malone
slowly steps toward the bar.
You too,
Dariann.
Dariann sidesteps toward the bar
also. Rourke whispers to Malone about
the men who are standing in various places around the nightclub.
Tell them to
back off or my jacket might accidentally go off in your direction.
Malone turns around and motions to the men
to back off. Then he turns back around
and faces Rourke. Dariann is now
standing behind Malone.
MALONE
So, Rourke,
how’ve you been? It’s been so long since
you double-crossed me and left me to take the fall all by myself.
DARIANN
Sounds like you
two know each other pretty well.
Malone turns toward Dariann.
MALONE
Oh yes, my
dear. Rourke and I go way back. Back to when he was IRA and left me holding
the bag when the police arrived to pick up only me in a dirty alley in
London. Rourke was supposed to pick me
up, but instead he blew me in.
Malone turns back toward Rourke.
But you’re not
really IRA, are you Rourke? You weren’t
IRA back then either. You were and still
are MI6 and I’m going to expose you. You
won’t have much longer on this great green earth, my friend, so you’d better
enjoy it while you can.
Rourke looks over Malone’s shoulder at
Dariann who has a dumbfounded look on her face now that she knows who he is and
now understands why he wouldn’t tell her anything about himself.
Malone sees the way Rourke looks at her
and smiles.
Oh, yes, my
friend, this beautiful young lass is why you’re going through all this trouble
and you still want to protect her?
Rourke looks back at Malone with hatred in
his eyes.
Do you really
think you’re going to walk out of here with that thing?
ROURKE
I’ll do better
than that.
Rourke grabs Malone by the arm with his
gun pressed into Malone’s side, and begins to lead him toward the exit. Rourke looks back at Dariann.
C’mon!
Dariann gives it a thought and Rourke gets
angry.
Damn it,
Dariann, now is not the time!
Rourke looks around at Malone’s men and
Dariann sees what he’s talking about.
She quickly catches up and stays very close to the two men as they walk
toward the door.
Tell them to
stand down or so help me, Malone…
Again Malone motions to his men to back
off but they stay close.
EXT. NYC – ALONG THE RIVER
Rourke is hurrying Malone along by the arm
with a gun exposed and pointed at Malone’s chest now. Dariann is hustling along behind them.
Suddenly, Dariann let’s out a slight
scream. As Rourke turns around, he sees
that one of Malone’s men has grabbed her.
He turns Malone and uses him as a shield, holding the gun up to Malone’s
head. Rourke yells to the gunman.
ROURKE
Let her go or
Malone’s brains’ll be all over this river.
Malone orders his man.
MALONE
Don’t you
move! He’ll never shoot me cause he
knows she’ll be dead the instant I am.
And we all know he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Rourke thinks about it a moment and
decides he’ll be no good to either of them if they are both caught. Another one of Malone’s men sneaks up behind
Rourke and tries to hit him on the head with a gun. He botches it but Malone gets away from
Rourke in the meantime. Rourke backhands
the man and slips away between some buildings.
Malone is now standing with his men and
Dariann. He slips his finger below
Dariann’s chin and lifts her head to look at him.
MALONE
He certainly
will not let anything happen to you, my dear.
I’m counting on it.
Malone smiles and motions to him men to
take her away.
FADE OUT
INT. SHERATON HOTEL – NYC – NEXT MORNING
Malone’s men are hanging around awaiting
Malone’s next order. Malone walks into
the room.
MALONE
Keith, I want
you to find Rourke and tell him to meet me at The Warehouse tonight for a
trade.
KEITH
Any clue where
he might be?
MALONE
Rourke’s not the
high-class type so I wouldn’t rule out the fleabag motels.
Malone pauses.
Make sure you
check the girl’s flat too.
Malone walks over to a door off of the
main room where they are. He opens the
door and looks in. He looks back out and
addresses the men.
Who tied her up
and put tape on her mouth?
KEITH
She wouldn’t
stop making noise so I thought it was the best way.
Malone smiles mischievously.
MALONE
I like it!
The men laugh.
Go on, get out
of here and don’t come back until you’ve found him.
All of the men get up and begin pulling on
coats and checking their pistols while Malone disappears into the room he was
just looking in.
INT. THE BEDROOM
Dariann is tied up lying down on a bed
with duct tape over her mouth. Malone
sits down on the bed next to her.
MALONE
I’m gonna take
the tape off of your mouth. It’s so
unbecoming.
He begins to gently take the tape off.
I trust you will
keep quiet and not make me have to find some other way to shut you up.
Again he looks at her with a cheeky
grin. He removes the tape and helps her
sit up. Once Dariann is sitting up, she
begins trying to squirm out of her ropes.
DARIANN
You son of a
bitch, you wait until I get these fucking things off!
MALONE
My, my, you’re
in a bad mood! Did you not get a restful
night’s sleep?
DARIANN
I can’t believe
you’ve gotten me into this mess. Take
these ropes off of me!
MALONE
I don’t know, I
kind of like it this way.
Malone begins to stroke Dariann’s shoulder
and she tries to pull away from him.
You didn’t seem
to be so frosty before.
DARIANN
Well you hadn’t
kidnapped me or gotten me involved in this vendetta you have with Rourke and I
didn’t know at the time that you were lying about your name, etcetera,
etcetera. By the way, Rourke is his name, right?
Malone doesn’t answer her. He begins to untie her.
MALONE
So, you only get
involved with guys who are honest and upstanding? I don’t think so. You and Rourke seem to have hit it off quite
well. He really fancies you. I
know. I’ve seen him with enough of you
birds to know when he’s just looking for a shag. Rourke looks at you with emotion in his eyes.
DARIANN
You’re out of
your mind. There’s nothing going on
between Rourke and me.
MALONE
There’d better
be and he better be coming to rescue you tonight or I’ll have to figure out
something else to do with you. Of
course, I wouldn’t mind that.
He finishes untying her and she slowly
stretches her arms and wrists.
Now I’m going to
trust that you’ll behave and I won’t have to tie you back up. You know what ropes do to me…
He runs his finger across her neck and she
stands up away from him as he laughs.
EXT. NYC – 10AM
Each of Malone’s men is walking from hotel
to hotel looking for Rourke.
EXT. NYC – ACROSS FROM THE HOLIDAY INN
One of Malone’s men, HALLORAN, is standing
across the street from the Holiday Inn.
Malone is watching him from down the block. Malone walks toward him until he sees Rourke,
then Rourke turns and walks in the opposite direction, knowing that Halloran is
following. Rourke ducks into an alley
and waits for Halloran to reach him.
Rourke pulls him into the alley and puts a hold on him so that he can
talk but can’t move.
ROURKE
Where’s the
girl?
HALLORAN
Malone says to
meet him tonight.
ROURKE
Where?
HALLORAN
It’s in my
pocket.
Rourke reaches into Halloran’s inside
jacket pocket and pulls out A PIECE OF PAPER.
He reads it and then puts a squeeze onto Halloran’s neck until he falls
unconscious. He drags Halloran down the
alley to a pile of garbage cans and rubbish.
He removes his clothes and duct tapes him up, including his mouth. He throws the garbage bags around him and
walks back out of the alley.
EXT. NYC – TWO HOURS LATER
Rourke is carefully walking the streets
looking for the men who are looking for him.
He sees two of Malone’s men walking toward him and when they spot him,
Rourke turns and runs. They reach a
warehouse and the men split up. As the first man rounds the corner, Rourke
decks him and drags him out of the way.
The second man, BRENNAN, comes from the opposite direction.
He and Rourke are at either end of the
deserted warehouse and begin walking toward each other. Brennan sees the first man lying on the
ground.
BRENNAN
I’m just here to
give you a message from Malone.
ROURKE
I already got
the message.
BRENNAN
Then we have no
business here.
The two men come within a few feet of each
other.
ROURKE
Oh, but I think
we do.
Brennan realizes Rourke means to fight
with him so he turns to run and Rourke trips him. Rourke holds him down on his stomach with his
knee on his back.
Where and when?
BRENNAN
8 o’clock, The
Warehouse.
Rourke thinks a moment, pulls Brennan’s
hands together and duck tapes them. He
lifts Brennan to his feet and takes him over to where the first man is
laying. He tapes them both up and
leaves.
As Rourke begins walking from the
warehouse, three more of Malone’s men are walking toward him. Rourke realizes he is outnumbered.
DUGGAN
We’ve a message
for you.
Rourke sighs deeply.
ROURKE
I’ve gotten the
message from two of you already.
DUGGAN
And you’re still
standin’?
Rourke laughs at them.
Then we’ve
another message for ya.
The men begin to brawl and Rourke is
getting the worst of it. Suddenly Andy
Winnick steps in and takes each one out, the others not realizing he is there
until it’s his turn. When he is finished
with the three men, he stoops down next to Rourke. Rourke’s face is bloodied and he is favoring
his midsection.
ANDY
Tough day at the
office, Dear?
Rourke rolls over and looks up at Andy.
ROURKE
Where the hell
have you been?
ANDY
Happy to see you
too, love.
Andy helps Rourke sit up and looks at the
cuts on his head.
Don’t think
you’ll need stitches, but the lovely Dariann might not want you after she sees
the mess your face is in.
Andy helps him to his feet and brushes his
back off.
Where to?
Rourke groans.
ROURKE
I’m told The
Warehouse at eight.
ANDY
Eight it is,
then.
INT. SHERATON HOTEL – MALONE’S ROOM – A
FEW HOURS LATER
Keith and two other men walk into the
suite, looking a bit beat up, and notice that the room has been trashed. Keith darts into the bedroom where Dariann
had been tied up and finds Malone, unconscious.
Keith hurries in and shakes Malone to consciousness.
KEITH
Where’s the
girl?
He helps Malone to sit up and Malone is
groggy.
MALONE
Ah, shite! I don’t know.
Two guys broke into the room and …
Malone rubs his
head.
I didn’t see
much. Damn it!
Malone angrily shakes Keith off of him as
his tries to stand up on his own. Keith assists him and Malone shakes off his
help again.
Damn it! Damn
it! Now how am I gonna get that data?
Malone staggers out of the bedroom with
Keith behind him.
INT. NYC – THE WAREHOUSE – 8 P.M. THAT
EVENING
Andy walks into The Warehouse and looks
around quickly before ascending the stairs to the second floor catwalk. Rourke walks in a few seconds behind
him. He looks around for Malone and
heads for the bar. Malone, Keith and two
other men arrive and approach Rourke.
ROURKE
Where is she?
MALONE
She’s safe.
ROURKE
Look, Malone,
this deal doesn’t go down until I see her.
MALONE
Don’t you worry
your head over her, Rourke, she’s just fine.
She’s very tasty, you know? I can
see what you fancy about her. Soft skin,
smells lovely and oh so feisty. Bet
she’s an incredible shag, eh?
Rourke is obviously becoming very angry,
just as Malone intends, and he grins in satisfaction.
Oh, Rourke,
Rourke, Rourke. You always were too
soft. So let’s get down to it. You’ll get the girl when I get the code.
Rourke sighs deeply.
ROURKE
You don’t have
Dariann, do you?
MALONE
Where’s the PDA?
ROURKE
It’s safe. You produce Dariann, I’ll produce the PDA.
MALONE
We can do this
all night, Rourke.
ROURKE
No Dariann, no
code. We’re done.
Rourke begins to walk away and two of
Malone’s men reach for their weapons.
Malone signals for them to stop.
MALONE
What are you
playing at, Rourke?
Rourke turns
back around.
ROURKE
I’m not playing
at anything. The IRA doesn’t want you
around, Malone. You’re a cockroach and
they’d probably pay me to put you out of their misery. Do you really think that getting this code is
going to put you in good with them? You
botched the job all those years back and you’ve been botching things ever
since. What you want will only get you
dead.
Rourke chuckles.
Although that
would suit me fine.
Malone is without words. Rourke turns to walk away and Andy starts for
the door at the same time.
EXT. THE WAREHOUSE
Andy and Rourke walk down the street along the wall of The Warehouse.
FOLOWING THEM
ROURKE
Do you think he
still has her?
ANDY
I’m thinking,
no. Don’t you think he would have
brought her with him if he did?
ROURKE
Yeah, that’d be
my guess. So where is she then?
EXT. BACK AT THE WAREHOUSE DOOR
Malone, Keith and the other two men exit
The Warehouse. Malone motions for the
other two men to go the opposite direction and circle the block. Malone and Keith then begin to follow Rourke
and Andy.
Just as they reach Rourke and Andy,
GUNFIRE breaks out. All four men duck
and run for cover. It’s unknown where
and from whom the gunfire is coming.
Rourke is hit in the left shoulder and
dives between a car and the curb. Andy
and Keith are hiding behind two parked cars on the street. They shoot back in the direction of the
gunfire.
KEITH
Who are they?
ANDY
No idea.
KEITH
Where
are they?
ANDY
It’s coming from
that car park over there.
Andy gestures across the street. Malone runs over to Rourke, pulls him away
from the car and helps him into an alley, away from the gunfire. Two men with guns come up from behind Andy
and Keith and they both give up their guns without a fight.
INT. MALONE’S HOTEL ROOM – A FEW MINUTES
LATER
Rourke has a towel pressed against his
shoulder as he sits down on the bed to think.
Malone is pacing the room.
MALONE
Who was shooting
at us?
ROURKE
I think the
question is, who else have you pissed off, Malone? And where is Dariann?
Malone concedes.
MALONE
I don’t know.
ROURKE
What, did you
lose her?
MALONE
Two men broke in
here, knocked me out cold and when I came to she was gone.
ROURKE
Did you
recognize the men?
MALONE
I didn’t know
them, but by their accents my guess would be IRA.
ROURKE
Why would IRA be
involved in this little vendetta you have against me?
Malone doesn’t. Rourke starts toward him.
Malone! What is it you’re not tellin’ me?
MALONE
I have no idea
why they would take her. I don’t even
know how they found me… or you. Who else
wants this code, Rourke?
Rourke stops his attack on Malone and
thinks about it.
ROURKE
If we don’t know
who took Dariann, or who was shooting at us, then we don’t know where to start
looking.
Rourke suddenly notices a piece of paper
under the main door to the hotel room and goes over to pick it up. He unfolds it and reads it.
MALONE
What is it?
ROURKE
It’s a start.
EXT. DOCKS OF NYC - EMPTY WAREHOUSE – ONE
HOUR LATER
Rourke and Malone are creeping along the
outside of the seemingly empty warehouse.
Rourke has a pistol in his right hand.
Malone is following carefully.
STILL
UNDER CONSTRUCTION