Basic Page #5

HARDY:

My brand. Must be my lucky day.

23.

He takes one and lights it. Dunbar does the same.

HARDY:

Let me ask you one thing. You seem

like a good guy, Ray. You carried

Kendall wounded to the pickup. So

what I don't get is what you did to

make Nunez want to kill you?

Dunbar just looks at the ground. A KNOCK at the door. Hardy

and Osborne turn to see an M.P. stick his head in.

M. P.

Sirs?

INT. FORT MCKINLEY -- CORRIDORS -- MORNING

Hardy and Osborne emerge to find Styles waiting for them.

HARDY:

He's not done by a longshot, I can

get more out of him-

STYLES:

He can wait. Kendall's out of

surgery.

EXT. ARMY JEEP (MOVING) -- MORNING

Hardy and Osborne sit in the back of the open car as it

rumbles across the grounds, headed towards the Base Hospital.

They sit in silence until:

HARDY:

Why'd you join the army?

Osborne looks at him, annoyed.

OSBORNE:

You really want to make banal chit-

Chat like that now?

HARDY:

You're right. We should sit in

silence.

OSBORNE:

We're in the middle of a murder case-

HARDY:

Best time for banal chit-chat.

He slips something into his pocket.

OSBORNE:

What is that?

24.

HARDY:

Microrecorder for Kendall - didn't

have- time to wire his room. Now

tell me why you joined the army or

I'll jab this pen through your neck.

Osborne smiles in spite of, herself.

OSBORNE:

Typical army brat story. Dad was

noncom, Mom was a Nurse. There was

never any real doubt of joining up.

HARDY:

You had a mobile of bayonets above

your crib.

OSBORNE:

Something like that. You?

HARDY:

I lost a bet.

Osborne laughs.

OSBORNE:

You're kidding.

HARDY:

Yeah. That's just the story I tell

the girls to get them into bed.

Truth is... I don't know. The whole

honor and duty thing. Make a

difference in the world, crap like

that. Didn't really work out.

Osborne studies him.

OSBORNE:

I bet that's the second story you

tell the girls to get them into bed,

after you make them laugh with the

first one.

Hardy just smiles.

OSBORNE:

This is the straight hitting on me

you were talking about, isn't it?

HARDY:

The very same.

OSBORNE:

You do understand that there's

absolutely no way I could ever be

attracted to you, right?

25.

HARDY:

I plan to grow on you.

OSBORNE:

You're off to a late start.

HARDY:

So noted.

They pass an OVERTURNED CLIMBING TOWER.

HARDY:

You guys really got the sh*t kicked

out of you here.

OSBORNE:

Imagine what it must have been like

for them out there. What do you

think of Dunbar?

HARDY:

He's telling the truth, up to a point.

OSBORNE:

What point?

Hardy doesn’t respond, instead looking out as they pass the

SECTION EIGHT BARRACKS.

OSBORNE:

Something wrong?

HARDY:

Being back here. Gives me the

willies.

OSBORNE:

Not the happiest of memories?

FLASHCUT TO - FIFTEEN YEARS AGO. A bunch of young Cadets,

Hardy and Styles among them, doing forced push-ups by the

barracks in the rain as West randomly berates and KICKS THEM.

BACK TO HARDY - As he looks away and shakes it off.

HARDY:

No.

INT. BASE HOSPITAL -- RECOVERY UNIT -- DAY

A NURSE leads Hardy and Osborne down a spotless white hall.

NURSE:

Normally we wouldn't let anyone see

him this soon, but Colonel Styles

said it was urgent

26.

HARDY:

It is.

OSBORNE:

Remember, he's the son of a Senator,

so go easy. Kid gloves.

HARDY:

Got it.

INT. BASE HOSPITAL -- KENDALL'S ROOM -- DAY

Kendall lies in a bed, a network of tubes in his arm. He is

awake but pale, still weak. He studies his visitors.

KENDALL:

You... I've seen you around the Base.

But you...

(POINTING TO HARDY)

You're not Army, are you?

HARDY:

Coast Guard, special detective detail.

We feel this incident may have put

the beaches of Florida at risk.

Kendall's laugh turns into a cough. Placing Hardy.

KENDALL:

That's it. You're that policeman

with friends in low places. Tell

me, how's Guissepe Torres doing these

days? Those racketeering indictments

must have really been a downer-

HARDY:

Levi, you got about four hours before

armed men show up here, put you on a

plane to Washington, and lock you in

a very small dark room. I suggest

you talk to us.

Kendall smiles again, not losing any of his cool.

KENDALL:

I've done nothing wrong.

(gestures to his wound)

I'm the victim here.

HARDY:

But not the only victim, right?

KENDALL:

My, my, my, how did things turn so

hostile so quickly? If I didn't

know better, I'd say you two were

out to get me.

27.

OSBORNE:

We just want-

KENDALL:

What, "The Truth"? Please. There

are degrees of truth, officer, always

degrees. Things are not what they

seem.

Hardy stares at him for a moment and then gets up to leave.

HARDY:

It's too early in the day for me to

give a sh*t about some pissant cadet's

bad version of "intrigue". You want

to talk to us, send word over to the

brig. Let's go.

Nonplussed, Osborne follows. Hardy turns back at the door.

HARDY:

You're working too hard, Levi. I

can tell cause you're sweating. And

you're sweating cause you have no

idea what Dunbar's already told us.

INT. BASE HOSPITAL -- CORRIDORS -- DAY

Hardy and Osborne walk to the NURSE'S STATION.

OSBORNE:

That was kid gloves?

HARDY:

Have no fear, Osborne, we have not

yet begun to fight.

He pulls a cigarette from his pocket and lights it.

OSBORNE:

But we have to question him(

noticing)

Thought you didn't have cigarettes-

HARDY:

I lied. Wait for it...

Osborne just stares at him, not knowing what to say next.

The PHONE at the Nurse's Station rings and a NURSE answers.

Listens for a moment, hangs up, and turns to them.

NURSE:

Cadet Kendall-

HARDY:

We're on our way.

28.

INT. KENDALL'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- DAY

Hardy and Osborne sit across from Kendall's bed.

HARDY:

Sergeant West is dead isn't he?

Kendall nods.

HARDY:

And the other three Cadets?

Kendall hesitates, then nods again.

HARDY:

Feel free to elaborate .

Kendall takes a breath and begins, all trace of bravado gone.

KENDALL:

My father is a powerful man. Over

the years he's used that power to

protect me, in one form or another,

from certain... unpleasantries.

(deep breath)

I am a homosexual.

HARDY:

Senator Daddy must be thrilled.

KENDALL:

He is not, shall we say, wild about

the idea. He has asked me on numerous

occasions to be more discreet about

my proclivities, and I have done my

best to oblige him. However, in the

last four weeks, I began a

relationship with another cadet.

What do you think of that?

HARDY:

I think you just blew "Don't Ask,

Don't Tell" out of the f***ing water.

KENDALL:

The Sergeant discovered this

relationship and wanted me expelled.

My father interceded, so instead,

West Sectioned me and made sure every

other cadet knew that I was gay.

OSBORNE:

He couldn't kick you out so he wanted

you to quit on your own.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote