Absolute Power Page #9

His name, by the way, is Alan Richmond, and we’ve seen

him before, most recently lying drunk in the back seat of

a dark Towncar.

RICHMOND:

Take a walk with me.

He and Sandy start out of the room. A well-dressed woman

moves with them. She is Chief of Staff and her name is

GLORIA RUSSELL.

Two men in suits follow behind. Burton and Collin are

their names and they are the best the Secret Service has

to offer.

149 INT. WHITE HOUSE -CORRIDOR -NIGHT 149

The group, as they leave the room, come to a wide

corridor.

RICHMOND:

Tell me about Walter --how is he?

SANDY LORD:

Eighty and alone, Mr. President.

RICHMOND:

He understands officially my hands

are tied?

SANDY LORD:

Mr. President, he’s touched at

your concern.

(CONTINUED)

)B( ABSOLUTE POWER -Rev. 5/16/96 45.

149 CONTINUED:

RICHMOND:

Any news of the killer?

(as Sandy indicates

"no")

Well, why isn’t there? Who’sin

charge of the case?

SANDY LORD:

Top man --eight years homicide

work in New York. But I

understand how you feel --it’s

hard to be patient.

RICHMOND:

(terribly upset)

No one understands how I feel -

I’m supposed to have all this

power but I can’t help my oldest

friend --you know and I know that

more than any man alive Walter

Sullivan put me here --and now

when he most needs me, he must

feel abandoned.

CLOSEUP -RICHMOND *

On fire -

RICHMOND:

--I’ll hold a press conference -

and I’ll have Walter come --and I

will embrace him before the world.

Sandy. Listening. Moved.

SANDY LORD:

He’ll treasure that, Mr.

President. What a generous

gesture. Thank you. Thank you.

And he reaches out, shakes Richmond’s hand, squeezes

Richmond’s arm and --Richmond --suddenly screaming in

pain --Sandy pulls back, shocked. Richmond looks

embarrassed.

RICHMOND:

(quick smile)

Damn tennis elbow is killing me.

And on that -

46.

150 INT. HALLWAY OUTSIDE OVAL OFFICE -NIGHT 150

Richmond, immediately after, and he sure isn’t smiling

now --he storms toward the Oval Office, Russell, Burton

and Collin hurrying to keep up.

151 INT. OVAL OFFICE -NIGHT 151

Burton opens the door for them, closes it once they’re

inside.

RICHMOND:

(throws off his jacket,

turns on Russell)

This thing’s worse, Gloria. I

need to see a doctor.

RUSSELL:

The country would have to be

informed, Mr. President.

RICHMOND:

What happened to my right to

privacy?

(rolls up his sleeve,

studies his cut)

I think she nicked a tendon.

RUSSELL:

Burton says it’s a flesh wound -

RICHMOND:

(to Burton)

--when did you become such an

expert, Bill? --Ever been

wounded? -

BURTON:

(quietly)

Yes, sir. Many times.

The fireplace. Richmond goes to it, rubs his arm, stares

at the flames.

RUSSELL:

Are you serious about that press

conference, Alan?

RICHMOND:

Of course I am --Walter’s been

like a father to me.

RUSSELL:

Shall I bring Mrs. Richmond home

for it?

(CONTINUED)

47.

151 CONTINUED:
151

Richmond, turning from the fire now, quietly.

RICHMOND:

I think Mrs. Richmond’s mission to

help the poor in Asia should not

be interrupted.

(takes a breath,

starts to button

his shirt)

We know anything yet?

RUSSELL:

We checked his license plate --he

stole the car from a police

impoundment lot.

RICHMOND:

We’re not dealing with a fool

here.

(gestures toward his

jacket, as Russell

helps him into it)

Has he initiated contact?

RUSSELL:

Burton doesn’t think he will.

RICHMOND:

I agree.

(checking himself

in a mirror)

Sorry about my behavior --won’t

happen again; think of it as a

blip on the screen. And as far as

I’m concerned, so is he.

RUSSELL:

He could be a little more than

that, Alan --he saw.

Richmond. Big.

RICHMOND:

He saw nothing --a drunk woman

who liked rough sex too much. And

he’s a burglar. Who’s going to

believe him?

(beat)

After all, it’s not as if he had

evidence or anything...

And on those words -

)B(

ABSOLUTE POWER -Rev. 5/16/96 48.

152

INT. LUTHER’S SAFE HOUSE APARTMENT -LETTER OPENER -152

NIGHT:

Luther holds it. It’s the middle of the night. Luther

turns the weapon over and over in his big hands...

153

EXT. WHITE HOUSE REAR GATE -NIGHT (LITTLE LATER) 153 *

Burton is alone in his car, exiting the gate and driving *

home. He turns onto the main road.

154

EXT. STREET NEAR WHITE HOUSE/INT. BURTON’S CAR -NIGHT 154

He picks up speed. Glances around --no cars are

following.

Burton reaches into his pocket, takes out a MICROCASSETTE

RECORDER, flicks it ON.

RICHMOND (V.O.)

What happened to my right to

privacy?

(beat)

I think she nicked a tendon.

Burton clicks the cassette off, puts it back into his

pocket. Drives into the night...

155

INT. KATE’S APARTMENT -TINY KITCHEN -DAY 155

A stove with one burner on high. A tea kettle is over

the flame.

It is morning and Kate is clearly not fully awake. She

is finishing making instant coffee with lowfat milk and

Sweet ’n Low; next she goes to the front door of her

apartment, opens it, picks up the morning Washington

Post.

She unfolds the paper as she starts back to the

kitchen -

INSERT -WASHINGTON POST

Huge headlines --as big as you can get without a war.

WALTER SULLIVAN’S WIFE MURDERED

(CONTINUED)

49.

155

CONTINUED:
155

BACK TO SCENE:

Kate looks at it only a moment, shakes her head, then

starts to turn her attention to another section of the

paper ---

she doesn’t get that far.

Kate:
she has seen something she didn’t catch before -The

front page again. And the headline is still there ---

but there is a smaller headline beneath it:

Jewel Thief Sought

Kate sits down hard. Trying for control. Entering a

nightmare. She stares at the paper.

The front page. Pictures of the mansion, of Walter

smiling on his wedding day, of Christy.

But Kate’s eyes keep coming back to the smaller headline:

Jewel Thief Sought

She tries to sip coffee, spills. She closes her eyes -in

the kitchen, the pot of WATER starts to SHRIEK. Kate

does not move.

156

EXT. VALERIE’S MIDDLE CLASS NEIGHBORHOOD -DAY 156

(EARLY AFTERNOON)

Kids riding bicycles. Very Norman Rockwell.

157

INT. VALERIE’S BASEMENT -DAY 157

A bald man. There is the sound of a CLICK. We realize

after a moment that the bald man is Luther.

Another SHOT of Luther looking very different --full

beard. Again, a CLICK.

Luther again --elegant beard this time. CLICK.

PULL BACK to reveal -We

are in the basement game room of one of the suburban

homes.

But our attention is on a whole string of Polaroids of

Luther.

(CONTINUED)

50.

157 CONTINUED:
157

Two people are present: Luther and VALERIE. Valerie is

very small, and doesn’t miss much.

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