Basic Page #8

DUNBAR:

Whose blood is that, Jay? West's.

PIKE:

Any kindling for afire?

He looks around for kindling. A beat.

DUNBAR:

What do you mean, West's?

PIKE:

I mean I killed him.

(pause)

Isn't that what we all wanted?

INT. KENDALL'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- PRESENT DAY

HARDY:

He admitted it.

KENDALL:

Right in front of us. Mueller went

after him but we held him back.

Pike surrendered and volunteered to

be tied up. So we roped him to a

chair and tried to ride out the storm.

OSBORNE:

Why would he just surrender?

Kendall turns to her and smiles.

KENDALL:

Because he had a plan.

41.

INT. CABIN -- LIVING ROOM -- LAST NIGHT

Pike, tied to a chair by the fireplace while the others look

for, food in the KITCHEN. Alone, Kendall walks past Pike:

PIKE:

Hey, Kendall, talk to you for a sec?

Kendall looks around - there seems no harm in it.

PIKE:

You hated West as much as I did.

I'm not saying what I did was right,

but you can't tell me you're not

glad the motherf***er's dead.

Kendall says nothing. Pike looks around, makes sure no one

is listening and then whispers:

PIKE:

The thing is, we've got a real

opportunity here. You turn me in

Tomorrow and we're both f***ed-

KENOALL:

What are you talking about?

PIKE:

A gay Senator's son who let his Sarge

get fragged on a training exercise?

The press'll crucify you and your

father. His career will be over and

it'll be your fault. But we do this

different and you come out a hero.

On Kendall, thinking about it. A beat.

KENOALL:

How?

PIKE:

Mueller. He's as bad as West and we

both know it. Now I can't do it,

cause I'm tied up, but we get the

others to go along-

KENDALL:

Don't think I want to hear this-

PIKE:

Someone else can do the deed, it

doesn't have to be you. Maybe Nunez

too, he's got a tendency to follow

Mueller, but the rest of us can come

out ahead - the guys who took out

their Sergeant's killers!

(MORE)

42.

PIKE (CONT'D)

We'll move the bodies out to the

creek and say we came over the hill

right as they fragged West, all we

gotta do is tell the story right.

Kendall stares at him. Disgusted.

KENDALL:

You're sick, Pike.

He turns and walks away. Pike watches him go.

KENDALL (V.O.)

Later on I.saw him talking to Dunbar.

They had been close. I was in another

room when it happened.

INT. CABIN -- KITCHEN LAST NIGHT

Kendall, looking through the empty cabinets for food when

A GUNSHOT -- From the living room. As Kendall bolts towards

the noise, the air is filled with the sounds of SCREAMING

and SHOOTING! He pushes through the door...

INT. CABIN -- LIVING ROOM -- LAST NIGHT

Kendall, coming through the door as we SLO-MO...

Mueller, sprawled out on the floor, dead... Pike, tied to

the chair, bullethole in his forehead... Nunez, wounded,

stumbling out the front door into the hurricane...

And a badly wounded Childs, pistol out, TURNING towards the

SOUND OF THE DOOR and FIRING...

Kendall's arm, HIT with a SLUG, and he starts to go down...

FREEZE-FRAME -- On Kendall's form, falling.

KENDALL (V.O.)

I don't think he meant to do it. It

was just reflex - he'd already been

gutshot. I must have passed out

cause next thing I knew...

EXT. LOUISIANA BAYOU -- DAWN

The sounds of RUNNING and HEAVY BREATHING. Kendall's eyes

flutter open. He's on Dunbar's back, being carried through

the woods. The sound of GUNFIRE and a TREE BRANCH SHATTERS

next to them. Someone is chasing them. Trying to kill them.

Nunez.

43.

Dunbar bobs and weaves as another volley of bullets comes

from behind and we can now hear ROTOR BLADES APPROACHING...

EXT. CLEARING -- DAWN

As Dunbar bursts into the sunlight, carrying Kendall.

The entire thing dreamlike, what we saw at the opening, but

from KENDALL'S VIEWPOINT -- the helicopter overhead, Nunez

behind, Dunbar turning and shooting, NUNEZ GOING DOWN...

INT. KENDALL'S HOSPITAL ROOM -- PRESENT DAY

KENDALL:

And that's it.

Hardy is silent. Staring at him.

OSBORNE:

Nunez was chasing Dunbar.

KENDALL:

Because he'd shot Mueller.

OSBORNE:

But you didn't see it, right?

KENDALL:

Like I said, I was in the kitchen.

When I came out, Mueller and Pike

were dead, Nunez and Childs were hit

and Dunbar was gone.

HARDY:

Why did he come back for you?

KENDALL:

I honestly don't know. Maybe to

have someone to cover for him. And

I wish I could, but there's no doubt

in my mind he killed those men.

Silence. Kendall's got nothing more to say.

HARDY:

Okay. I think that's it. He rises

and walks to the door.

KENDALL:

Mr. Hardy?

Hardy turns back.

KENDALL:

What did Dunbar tell you?

44.

Hardy smiles and pushes out the door...

EXT. STYLES' OFFICE -- DAY

Hardy and Osborne stand before the Colonel, filling him in.

HARDY:

Pike killed West, Dunbar killed

Mueller, Childs, and Nunez.

STYLES:

Who killed Pike?

HARDY:

Someone must have got a shot off.

He wasn't exactly a moving target.

Styles turns to Osborne.

STYLES:

What do you think?

OSBORNE:

It's too neat.

HARDY:

"Too neat." How long have you been

an investigator?

OSBORNE:

I don't think that has anything to

do with-

HARDY:

That means under a year. Let me

explain what ten years of police

work has taught me - murder is basic.

There are no conspiracies, no grand

mysteries, and no evil puppet masters

behind it all, pulling the strings;

murder is shitty people doing a shitty

thing to other shitty people - it

doesn't always make sense but it's

always neat. Dunbar’s our guy.

Osborne struggles to put it into words.

OSBORNE:

I just... He came back for Kendall.

I don't think he's capable of murder.

HARDY:

Everyone's capable of murder, Osborne.

Osborne turns, making her case to Styles.

45.

OSBORNE:

Look, all we've got is what Kendall

says, and he didn't actually witness

any deaths except Nunez. He found

West, he saw Mueller and Pike, but

just their bodies - he didn't see

any crime committed.

HARDY:

Well, I'm sure if he'd known this

was all going to happen he'd have

Tried harder to witness it for you-

STYLES:

West's body isn't in the creek bed.

They stop arguing, turning to look at him.

STYLES:

We've already been over the terrain

twice. Nothing.

HARDY:

There was a hurricane, Bill, the

wind probably moved it.

STYLES:

Habeas Corpus - you have to have a

body to have a crime.

HARDY:

Okay, then let's widen the search

'to include the endzone in Giants

Stadium and the trunk of my car-

STYLES:

Without the body we have no physical

proof. We need a confession.

HARDY:

From Dunbar? I hate to break this

to you, but I don't think he's gonna

be all that psyched to put himself

in for the death penalty.

STYLES:

Nevertheless-

HARDY:

Nevertheless what'? Kendall will

testify and that'll be enough.

STYLES:

Not for me.

A beat. Almost accusingly:

46.

HARDY:

You mean not enough to save you.

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