Basic Page #13

approve of this line of questioning-

HARDY:

Why did you tell us he shot everybody,

Levi? You put him in for three

murders, the man saved your life-

KENDALL:

So I should stay silent about his

misdeeds? The guns went off, I ran

in, Childs shot me, Pike and Mueller

were dead, and Dunbar was running

out the door with the smoking gun-

HARDY:

Dunbar was running out the door?

Ohhhhhh... See that's where I was

confused, because I thought you said

Nunez was running out the door.

71.

KENDALL:

No. I said Dunbar.

HARDY:

Huh. You know, I really thought you

said Nunez. I thought you said

"Dunbar was gone," My fault, I gotta

check the tape on that.

(off Kendall's look)

Oh, yeah we taped the last interview.

This one too. Cause it'd be a real

break for us to catch you in a lie.

Silence. They wait for Kendall's reaction. He looks

momentarily flustered by this... and then he smiles.

KENDALL:

I believe your next line is "What

are you trying to hide?"

HARDY:

Well?

KENDALL:

Sorry to disappoint. I'm on

painkillers for the injury - they

cloud the mind. You're right, it

was Nunez. Any more questions?

Hardy doesn't know what to say. That was his ace card.

KENDALL:

Don't get me wrong, Mueller and Childs

were quite the pair, the type of

guys you didn't feel comfortable

going to sleep around. Completely

capable of murder. But as I said, I

didn't hear the exchange before the

shooting. I wasn't in the room.

Osborne furrows her brow at this as Hardy continues.

HARDY:

Dunbar will testify that you were.

KENDALL:

Then we'll leave it up to the courts His

word against mine. What does

his father do again? Steelworker?

(smiling)

Doesn't matter, I'm sure justice

will be served. In any case, my

father will definitely want to talk

to you about all these questions,

these accusations on his son. He's

quite protective.

72.

Osborne turns to Hardy.

OSBORNE:

I need to talk to you outside.

EXT. BASE HOSPITAL -- CORRIDOR -- DAY

Osborne and Hardy, exiting the room. Whispering:

HARDY:

We're f***ed, I know-

OSBORNE:

They got their stories straight.

HARDY:

What?

OSBORNE:

What Kendall said - "the type of

guys you don't feel comfortable going

to sleep around." That's what Dunbar

said about Childs to the letter.

HARDY:

Are you sure?

OSBORNE:

Positive. Hardy, they planned this.

She grins. He grins back.

OSBORNE:

Not bad for hostile and uncooperative,

eh?

INT. KENDALL'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAY

Hardy and Osborne reenter, smiling. Kendall chuckles.

HARDY:

Something funny, Levi?

KENDALL:

I was just thinking of what's going

to happen to your careers when my

father gets through with you.

Hardy pulls the out MICRORECORDER and hands it to Osborne.

HARDY:

Why don't you talk to Levi off the

record for a second?

OSBORNE:

Good idea.

73.

Smiling, she stops the tape. Then turns to Kendall.

OSBORNE:

You and Dunbar got your stories

straight. Little details, little

inconsistencies, designed to bounce

us back from one of you to the other,

asking questions, killing time, until

the transport arrives and whisks you

away to where Senator Daddy can

protect you. You think you're just

going to slide out of this? You're

an accessory to murder, Levi, you're

Going to jail-

KENDALL:

You can't threaten me-

HARDY:

Jail if he's lucky, the gas chamber

if he's not-

KENDALL:

Didn't do anything-

Osborne laughs.

OSBORNE:

It doesn't matter, Levi. We're going

to find those bodies and when we do,

I'm going to make sure one of them

has a bullet in them that matches

your weapon-

KENDALL:

What?

HARDY:

That’s a fantastic idea-

OSBORNE:

See, I just take your gun to the

morgue and fire it into one of their

skulls; then I call every newspaper

in the country with the story about

how Senator Kendall's gay son went

nuts on a training mission-

KENDALL:

(beginning to panic)

It won't work-

OSBORNE:

It will and you know why?

(MORE)

74.

OSBORNE:

Because you're not a person anymore,

you're a cadet in the United States

Army; you have no identity, no Miranda

warning, and no rights. So I'm gonna

throw you to the wolves, and unlike

you I'm gonna get away with it,

because you're pissing me off!

She finishes, breathing hard. Kendall, totally cowed. Hardy,

trying to suppress a smile. Osborne rises for the door.

OSBORNE:

Enjoy your flight to Washington-

KENDALL:

Wait-

OSBORNE:

What.

Silence. Kendall takes a deep breath.

KENDALL:

Dunbar's telling the truth.

OSBORNE:

Wrong answer-

KENDALL:

We did get our stories straight, but

not because we killed anyone.

(pause)

It was because I threatened him.

HARDY:

Why?

KENDALL:

Because of what I saw.

(pause)

Who really killed West.

Osborne holds up the microrecorder and starts the tape again.

OSBORNE:

Who killed Sergeant West?

Kendall stares at the recorder. A long pause.

OSBORNE:

Who, Levi-

KENDALL:

Childs.

75.

HARDY:

How do you know?

KENDALL:

Because I was standing next to him.

He pauses, taking a shaky sip of water.

KENDALL:

I was in on the PX thing. He and

Mueller and me, we were making

thousands. West found out. Childs

said we were just gonna scare him Use

my Dad's clout. I had this whole

speech prepared about how if he ratted

us, his career was over. We met him

in the creek bed but before I said

anything...

EXT. LOUISIANA BAYOU -- CREEK BED -- LAST NIGHT

West stands in front of Childs and Kendall, facing them.

Kendall opens his mouth to speak, but Childs steps forward

and raises his rifle, FIRING...

INT. KENDALL'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- PRESENT DAY

KENDALL:

I swear, I didn't know he was gonna

do it. After, he told me we were

gonna pin it on Pike, one of our

biggest customers.

INT. CABIN -- LAST NIGHT

As they TIE PIKE to the, chair.

KENDALL (V.O.)

Nobody'd believe the word of a black

junkie ex-con against ours.

Childs gives Kendall a look that says "Stay quiet".

KENDALL (V.O.)

He told me I'd better keep quiet, or

I'd end up the same as West.

Pan over to Dunbar, who binds his friend, sadly.

KENDALL (V.O.)

Dunbar didn't know anything about

any of it. Everything he told you

was true, except after...

76.

EXT. LOUISIANA BAYOU -- LAST NIGHT

Dunbar pulls Kendall from the cabin's wreckage. As Kendall

begins to talk to him, Dunbar's eyes widen in shock. ..

KENDALL (V.O.)

I told him what had really happened

to West. Told him to keep quiet

about it or I'd destroy him. Because

if it came out that I was involved

with the whole PX scam, my father

would be finished.

INT. KENDALL'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- PRESENT DAY

KENDALL:

I scared Dunbar into silence. He's

been trying to cover for me the whole

time. We got here, you came to see

me... I didn't know if I could trust

him with that kind of secret-

OSBORNE:

So you framed him. The same way

Childs was going to frame Pike.

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