Basic Page #3

I used to be, but that's beside the

point. Who I am doesn't really

matter; what matters is that right

now, you're in a shitload of trouble.

You understand that, right?

No response.

HARDY:

Now, I don't know if you did what

you did in self defense and frankly

I don't really care. I'm just doing

a favor for Colonel Styles because

he wants to know if anyone else who's

still out there is in need of

assistance. To be honest with you,

though, I don't care about that

either.

Dunbar looks up at this, surprised.

HARDY:

I don't know those guys, you do.

They die, to me, it's like seeing a

couple people died in a fire on the

news - tragic, but it doesn't affect

me. The only thing I care about is

I agreed to do a favor for a friend

and try and talk to you till your

transpo shows up. You like baseball?

No response. Osborne looks at her watch - two minutes.

HARDY:

I could talk baseball for days.

Batting averages, ERA's, I got

statistics in my brain, I don't know

how I remember them. It's freaky.

You wanna talk baseball?

Dunbar, completely confused.

HARDY:

Come on Ray, we're gonna be here

five hours, we gotta talk about

something. So who do you like?

A long silence and then:

13.

DUNBAR:

I don't like baseball.

Hardy grins as Osborne stops her watch at 2:41.

HARDY:

Why not?

DUNBAR:

I asked for a policeman.

HARDY:

You're under military arrest, it's

not gonna happen. What's wrong with

baseball?

DUNBAR:

It's... too slow.

HARDY:

Well, it's a game of anticipation,

that's the beauty.

DUNBAR:

I just don't like it.

HARDY:

What do you like then?

As they continue, we TRACK under the table to reveal a HIDDEN

MICROPHONE...

INT. STYLES' OFFICE -- MORNING

Styles and an M.P. listening to the Coffee Room conversation.

DUNBAR'S VOICE, over the speaker:

DUNBAR (O.S.)

I don't know... I like the Army.

HARDY (O.S.)

C'mon, Ray, everyone hates the Army

during Basic. I'll tell you straight,

I hated it here.

INT. COFFEE ROOM -- MORNING

DUNBAR:

You did Basic here?

HARDY:

Fifteen years ago under Sergeant

West. Piece of work, that guy. I

remember, he used to have these two

silver .45's with ivory handles and

if you weren't quick enough, he’d

(MORE)

14.

HARDY (CONT'D)

knock you on the head with one of

them. He still carry those guns?

He Dunbar nods.

HARDY:

I was also his " knife dummy" .

(to Osborne)

See, West used to say he could slit

a man from stem to sternum in three

seconds. He'd use this length of

pipe to demonstrate and if you were

the knife dummy, you'd spend all day

getting a pipe rammed into your balls

if you weren't fast enough to defend

yourself. That was a loooong day.

Hardy laughs at the memory and turns back to Dunbar.

HARDY:

Incidentally, Ray, I promised them

I'd ask where West and the others

are. Can we get to them?

He looks to the floor.

DUNBAR:

There's no need...

HARDY:

They're dead, aren't they?

Dunbar looks back up at Hardy.

DUNBAR:

Yeah.

INT. STYLES' OFFICE -- MORNING

Styles lowers his head at this.

INT. COFFEE ROOM -- MORNING

HARDY:

You kill them?

No answer. Hardy rubs his nose. Osborne steps forward.

OSBORNE:

The Colonel saw you shoot Nunez,

You're a murderer-

HARDY:

See, Ray, this is what we call "good

cop, bad cop".

(MORE)

15.

HARDY:

She shouts, I stand up for you, you're

grateful, a bond of trust is

established.

Osborne, stunned by this.

HARDY:

But I don't want to play games.

That's why you're not in an

interrogation room, with one of those

two way mirrors - everyone knows

those things are two way, right?

Dunbar looks at him good nods slowly.

HARDY:

Right. Now, I'm gonna go get you

another donut and you think about

whether you want to talk more, okay?

DUNBAR:

Okay.

Hardy smiles at him, gets up, and leaves.

INT. FORT MCKINLEY -- CORRIDOR -- MORNING

Osborne follows him out into the hall where Styles waits.

OSBORNE:

Baseball?

HARDY:

Believe somebody owes me ten dollars-

OSBORNE:

You made me look like an idiot-

HARDY:

Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know the

object of the interrogation is to

make you look good- Everyone knows

good cop, bad cop - by admitting it

I appeared trustworthy.

STYLES:

You think he did it?

OSBORNE:

No-

HARDY:

Yes-

They stop, looking at each other.

16.

STYLES:

You've got four hours and forty-five

minutes to find out.

INT. COFFEE ROOM -- MORNING

Hardy returns, another donut in hand, Osborne behind him.

HARDY:

Why'd you ask for a cop, Ray?

DUNBAR:

I'm not telling you what happened.

HARDY:

Okay... but I would like to know

about the other cadets. What they

were like - nice guys? Dunbar takes

a deep breath.

DUNBAR:

Some.

HARDY:

Tell me about them.

As Dunbar begins to talk, we FLASHBACK...

EXT. FORT MCKINLEY -- PARADE GROUNDS -- EIGHT WEEKS AGO

Row upon row of freshly shaven headed CADETS stand at

attention. Their first day of boot camp.

DUNBAR (V.O.)

First day was when I met Pike. Sarge

hated him from the beginning.

A man with a face of granite strides up and down the lines.

Two ivory handled pistols on his hips. His lifeless cobalt

blue eyes take in the Cadets. This is SERGEANT WEST.

WEST:

You motherfuckers have just made the

worst mistake of your lives! You

have chosen to join my Army! This

Army is my mother, my father, and my

little virgin sister and I will not

allow anyone or anything that is not

up to my standards near her pretty

little virgin cooze, do you understand

me - give me a sir, yes, sir!

THE CADETS:

Sir, yes, sir!

17.

WEST:

Those who I deem unworthy to pass

through this camp will quit, and

those who refuse to quit I will kill.

You ever hear of a training accident Give

me a sir, yes, sir!

THE CADETS:

Sir, yes, sir!

WEST:

In my time I have killed sixteen men

for the good of my country, sixteen

men whose entrance into this Army I

could not condone, as it would weaken

the fabric of this nation's defense!

This base suffers an average of three

training accidents a year, unfortunate

incidents that I will not hesitate

to repeat if you cross me, understand Give

me a sir, yes, sir!

THE CADETS:

Sir, yes, sir!

WEST:

So forget what you've seen on Sixty

f***ing Minutes about the kinder,

gentler military - you will either

succeed, quit, or die by my hand!

He walks over to a tall black cadet in the front row. PIKE.

WEST:

My power here is absolute, isn't

that right, n*gger?

PIKE:

Sir, yes, sir!

West hauls off and SLAPS Pike across the face!

WEST:

I hail from Biloxi, Mississippi where

we string greasy coon necks up from

tree branches when the mood strikes

us you have a problem with that?

PIKE:

Sir, no, sir!

West grabs Pike by the neck, CHOKING HIM. The others Cadets

GASP. Pike goes down on his knees, the loss of air is so

great. He reaches up automatically to try and save himself...

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