A Few Good Men Page #34

KENDRICK:

Corporal Dawson was found to be Below

Average because he committed a crime.

KAFFEE:

What crime did he commit?

(beat)

Lieutenant Kendrick?

(beat)

Dawson brought a hungry guy some

food. What crime did he commit?

KENDRICK:

He disobeyed an order.

KAFFEE:

And because he did, because he

exercised his own set of values,

because he made a decision about the

welfare of a marine that was in

conflict with an order of yours, he

was punished, is that right?

KENDRICK:

Corporal Dawson disobeyed an order.

KAFFEE:

Yeah, but it wasn't a order, was it?

After all, it's peacetime. He wasn't

being asked to secure a hill... or

advance on a beachhead. I mean, surely

a marine of Dawson's intelligence

can be trusted to determine on his

own, which are the really important

orders, and which orders might, say,

be morally questionable.

(beat)

Lt. Kendrick?

(beat)

Can he? Can Corporal Dawson determine

on his own which orders he's gonna

follow?

(pause)

KENDRICK:

No, he can not.

KAFFEE:

A lesson he learned after the Curtis

Barnes incident, am I right?

KENDRICK:

I would think so.

KAFFEE:

You know so, don't you, Lieutenant.

ROSS:

Object!

RANDOLPH:

Sustained.

KAFFEE:

Lieutenant Kendrick, one final

question:
if you ordered Dawson to

give Santiago a code red...

ROSS:

-- please the court --

KENDRICK:

I told those men not to touch

Santiago.

KAFFEE:

-- is it reasonable to think that he

would've disobeyed you again?

ROSS:

Lieutenant, don't answer that.

KAFFEE:

You don't have to, I'm through.

ROSS doesn't even wait before he says --

ROSS:

Lieutenant Kendrick, did you order

Corporal Dawson and Private Downey

to give Willy Santiaga code red?

But KENDRICK isn't listening -- he's glaring at Kaffee.

ROSS:

(continuing)

Lt. Kendrick, did you --

KENDRICK:

No I did not.

ROSS:

Thank you.

CUT TO:

FWAP! - a nerf ball slams into a hoop.

PULL BACK TO REVEAL

INT. KAFFEE'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

JO and KAFFEE. KAFFEE's pumped and shooting baskets as Sam

walks in with some bound papers under his arm.

KAFFEE:

What's the word?

SAM:

This is the tower chief's log for

that night. Jessep was telling the

truth. The six a.m. flight was the

first plane out.

KAFFEE lets the ball drop out of his hands.

KAFFEE:

Let me see that.

CUT TO:

EXT. A MOTEL - NIGHT

A SEDAN, with U.S. MARSHALL stenciled on the door, sits in

front of one of the rooms, and the two FEDERAL AGENTS inside

the car are reading the newspaper as KAFFEE'S CAR pulls next

to them and KAFFEE jumps out.

AGENT #1 sticks his head out the window and calls to KAFFEE --

AGENT #1

Workin' late, lieutenant?

KAFFEE pays no attention and bangs on MARKINSON's door. The

door opens and KAFFEE walks into

INT. MOTEL ROOM

HE tosses the log book on the table.

KAFFEE:

There was no flight out at eleven

o'clock. What the f*** are you trying

to pull?

MARKINSON:

The first flight stateside left

Guantanamo Bay at eleven and arrived

at Andrews Airforce Base, Maryland,

at a few minutes past two.

KAFFEE:

Then why the hell isn't it listed in

the Tower Chief's log?!

MARKINSON:

Why the hell did you think it would

be?!!

KAFFEE is silent. And now it begins to sink in.

KAFFEE:

What are you telling me?

(beat)

He fixed the log book?

Setback. Big setback.

KAFFEE:

(continuing)

Well, maybe he can make it so a plane

didn't take off, but I can sure as

hall prove that one landed. I'll get

the log book from Andrews.

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