Ares Page #13

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65.

EVAN:

-- I went through their notes. Yuri,

the exo-geologist on board, wroteabout this one again and again. Hecalled it nezemnoy.

DANNY:

What’s that mean?

EVAN:

Unearthly. Alien.

Danny gazes at Evan with awe-inspired reverence.

DANNY:

Holy sh*t. Dad... that’s awesome.

Evan gasps as he realizes Chloe is using the stolen phone.

EVAN:

Wait -- don’t call the police!

But she’s only Googling “Misha Surkov.”

CHLOE:

Surkov is only worth three billion.

NASA always projected the missionwould cost at least ten.

EVAN:

There’s a lot of billionaires in

Russia. I’m sure other mininginterests invested with him.

CHLOE:

Then prove it. Prove what you have inthat box is really from Mars.

EVAN:

I can’t. It’s locked.

(he shows them the complex

lock on the box --)

And I wouldn’t open it anyway. It has

to be analyzed and quarantined tomake sure it doesn’t contain deadlypathogens. That’s why we’re going tothe embassy. Then you’ll have more

proof than you can handle.

Chloe obviously doesn’t believe a word of it.

CHLOE:

Why would Surkov hire an alcoholic?

66.

EVAN:

He wanted astronauts with no

families.

DANNY:

But you had us.

EVAN:

(awkward)

But we weren’t talking. He wanted

people who wouldn’t be missed... I

stopped drinking two and a half years

ago.

DANNY:

For the mission?

Evan nods.

CHLOE:

(hurt, disgusted)

You stopped for that, but youwouldn’t stop for us?

A pained look between Evan and Chloe.

EVAN:

Remember how NASA worried about the

effects of spending two years in zero-

G?

He crawls closer to her in the truck bed. Chloe backs into the

corner -

CHLOE:

Stay away. Don’t try to touch us.

EVAN:

(still coming closer)

-- and how the spine might expandwith water? How do you explain thefact I’m two inches taller than when

you last saw me? Lie down next to meand you’ll see I’m telling the truth.

He lies down straight in the truck bed. Skeptical, shestraightens out beside him. Trying to measure him.

Chloe stares at Evan... amazed. It’s clear from her reaction

that he DOES seem taller.

DANNY:

See? He’s not lying.

(to Evan)

67.

Holy sh*t. You’re gonna be the mostfamous person ever.

Evan can’t help it... He smiles a little. A glimmer of his old

cockiness from Houston.

EVAN:

(to Chloe)

Impressed?

CHLOE:

What if you had just landed this“capsule” where Surkov told you to?

EVAN:

He would have killed me.

CHLOE:

So now he can kill all three of us?

Is that what you wanted?

Evan gathers himself.

EVAN:

It was never my plan to put you indanger. I thought I’d land in Addis,

get you and Danny, be at the Embassyin an hour. I wanted to keep yousafe. But things went wrong-

The PICK UP truck peels off the highway in front of a coupleof ramshackle buildings.

EVAN:

(anxious)

Why’re we stopping?

Chloe and Danny stiffen. They don’t know either. Evan snatches

the gun from Chloe. Before Chloe can protest -

EVAN:

Stay down!

Chloe isn’t sure what to do as Evan peers over the side of the

truck bed. Readying himself for the worst.

But they’re pulled up in front of a gas pump. The DRIVER

begins pumping gas.

Evan’s still tense...

68.

EXT. PICK UP TRUCK - STREETS OF ADDIS - AFTERNOON

Weaving through traffic. Chloe, Danny, and Evan still lie inthe truck bed. Evan tries to appear calm for Danny’s sake.

DANNY:

Now that you’re back, can we move

back to Houston?

EVAN:

(smiles)

If your mother agrees to it.

DANNY:

I’ve asked her a million times. She

only cares about her job. She canstay here and I'll go back with you.

Evan glances at Chloe, who’s lying behind Danny. He can see

how hurt she is by what Danny’s saying.

CHLOE:

Danny, give me a moment to speak toyour dad.

But they’re crammed into the pick-up truck’s bed.

DANNY:

...Where am I supposed to go?

Chloe climbs over between Evan and Danny. She whispers toEvan. His face right up to hers. Lying next to each other likelovers.

CHLOE:

I told you I’m not leaving Addis. And

certainly not with you. Please don’t

turn him against me.

EVAN:

Seems like it’s a little late for

that.

CHLOE:

He blames me for leaving you, Evan.

It’s obviously painful for her. He swallows, surprised how

broken his family is.

CHLOE:

I don't know how to win him back.

Her lips brushing his ear as she whispers -

69.

CHLOE:

I lost you, then I lost him.

He swallows. He wants to apologize. Isn’t sure how.

EVAN:

(awkward)

I came back to try to these fix

things.

CHLOE:

You’re too late.

A chunk of her hair has fallen in front of her face. He

reaches out to tuck it back in her ear, but she rolls the

other way. Tucks the hair back herself.

Evan turns to Danny.

EVAN:

I’m not taking you from your mom, D.

DANNY:

Why not? She took me away from you -

EVAN:

I left.

DANNY:

What?

EVAN:

I left, Danny. I left.

It hits Danny like salt in a wound. Evan sees it.

Chloe looks at him. Stunned by the lie.

EVAN:

I put your mom through hell.

DANNY:

But then you looked for us...

EVAN:

...I was never looking for you.

Danny freezes. Turns pale. Devastated.

EVAN:

Don’t blame her for anything.

He reaches for Danny to hug him, but Danny pulls away. Hisimage of his father shattered.

70.

Brutal silence between them.

They feel the truck slowing. Chloe and Evan peer over the edgeof the truck bed. They’re approaching -

THE U.S. EMBASSY COMPOUND

Imposing marble edifice. Giant gates. Huge American flagwaving briskly in the breeze.

EVAN:

We’re safe, guys. We’re safe.

He takes Chloe’s hand -- and for a moment she lets him. Caught

up in how elated he is.

But Chloe stiffens as she sees between them and the embassy:

A perimeter of POLICE CHECKPOINTS.

CHLOE:

I’ve never seen these checkpoints

before..

Cops are checking all cars and IDs. No way to bypass them.

CHLOE:

Looks like they’re searching anyonegoing to the Embassy.

EVAN:

(panicking)

They’ll arrest us before we can getinside.

Among the checkpoints, he sees A WHITE JEEP. Like the onesthat pursued them earlier. Then he spots -NOVAK.

The man with the white blond hair from the Saba camp.

Evan’s horrified. This was his whole plan. Now what?

EVAN:

Tell the driver to turn around!

Chloe quietly says a few words to the driver, who tries tomake a U-Turn. But they’re stuck in the traffic.

Worse -- A PASSERBY spots them lying in the truck bed.

EVAN:

Sh*t.

71.

The PASSERBY runs toward the nearest POLICE OFFICER, yelling.

EVAN:

Get out of the truck!

The family leaps out. Sprint away down -A

CONGESTED STREET

Chloe YELLS in Amharic. We don’t know what she’s saying, but

the pedestrians make way for them to sprint through.

Danny’s TERRIFIED. On the verge of tears.

HALF A BLOCK BEHIND THEM: the COP fights his way through the

crowd. BEGGAR CHILDREN accost him, slowing him down.

The COP FIRES into the air. The crowd panics and scatters.

AHEAD:
The family realize they’re running down a DEAD END.

They try to turn back -- too late -The

COP is coming straight toward them. Gun raised.

Evan pulls his gun from the stolen purse -

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