Cliffhanger Page #13

Travers hesitates, but nods -- Kynette throws him the iron

spikes. Gabe fastens them to his boots.

Gabe looks up -- this is going to be tough, even for him. In

spite of the cold, he takes off his gloves -- that's how small

these holds are -- and he meticulously tapes up his hands and

his fingers.

HIGH ANGLE - GABE

moves up the wall with some ease at first -- there are

hand-sized handholds, and decent footholds -- but twenty feet

up, there's nothing. To keep going, Gabe has to painfully

wedge his fingers into small cracks, essentially supporting

his weight only by several fingerholds at any given moment.

We can see from the angle that Gabe is at least 3,000 feet

from solid ground. We can see from his face that he's trying

not to think about it.

ON THE LEDGE - TRAVERS AND QUALEN

watch Gabe's slow progress.

QUALEN:

I don't trust him.

TRAVERS:

(indicating wall)

Where could he go?

QUALEN:

I'd rather he didn't show us.

(beat)

We don't need two guides.

TRAVERS:

(shrugs)

You win. Kill him when he gets down.

GABE ON THE WALL - CLOSE

Make that "if he comes down". Gabe is now in one of the

worst positions possible for a free climb. He is moving up

the underside of the overhang and is essentially hanging

upside down, knifing his fingers into tiny cracks for support.

It's excruciating -- both in terms of muscular effort, and the

abrasions that come from forcing fingers into ice and rock

again and again. Gabe keeps his hold with one hand and slides

the other up, hammering it into a crack wedge with ice --

some of the ice chips whistle past and down --

-- finally, Gabe gropes one hand over the edge, and pulls

himself onto

THE OVERHANG:

Exhausted, Gabe pulls himself prone across the top. Something

hard is underneath him -- Gabe recovers and brushes the snow

off the money case that's underneath. It's battered from the

fall, but is still barely holding together. Gabe manages to

force open the trashed locks -- he looks inside the case, and

fingers a band of $5000s.

GABE:

Jesus.

ON THE LEDGE - TRAVERS AND QUALEN

look up. They can see Gabe has made it -- but they can't see

him, or the case.

TRAVERS:

(impatient, shouting)

Lower it down -- now!

ON THE OVERHANG - GAB

has no intention of doing this -- he snaps the case shut and

looks over at a ledge that moves off from it -- and at the ice

and snow above.

ON THE LEDGE - TRAVERS AND QUALEN'S POV

try to look up and locate Gabe. They can't. Until --

GABE (O.S.)

(shouting down)

I've got a better idea. Why don't you

come up and get it?

With the case, Gabe moves, back against the wall, on a ledge

that skirts off the overhand -- from Travers and Qualen's

point of view. Gabe can hardly be seen -- since the mountain

bulges out as it goes up. Gabe's got a slight edge of cover.

TRAVERS:

(shouts to Heldon)

Get him!

Heldon runs along the lower ledge, FIRING up at --

GABE:

who has to flatten against the upper ledge -- bullets howl

past at twenty per second, SPARKING against the lip of the

rock -- it's cover, but not much --

HAL:

looks up, worried --

HAL'S POV - ICE AND SNOW

piled by the ton from the storm, lie further above -- the ice

holding it back already, already weakened by the sun, is being

chiselled away by bullets --

ON THE LOWER LEDGE - QUALEN

grabs Hal and puts the gun to his head.

QUALEN:

(shouting)

Bring the money down, or we kill your

friend!

Travers pushes the barrel away from Hal, shaking his head.

TRAVERS:

We can't.

(frowning)

And he knows it.

WIDER ANGLE ON MOUNTAIN - THE PARALLEL LEDGES

Gabe moves across his thing ledge as Heldon runs across his --

Gabe ducks back and has to flatten even more against the wall,

because his ledge is getting smaller --

HELDON:

smiles, seeing Gabe's cover is gone -- Heldon's ledge is

getting wider, so it's easier for him to fire up. Heldon moves

out to the edge --

GABE'S POV DOWN

There's now nothing between Heldon and Gabe -- Heldon takes

dead aim --

GABE:

looks up, sweating it --

GABE:

Come on --

THE ICE AND SNOW

above finally give way, dropping an avalanche on

GABE:

who drops the case and hugs the wall --

THE AVALANCHE - WIDE VIEW ON MOUNTAIN

Only now can we see how much snow and ice had been penned up

on the mountain top -- tons of ice and snow sweep down the

mountainside -- it SHATTERS the case against the wall as it

easily swipes a SCREAMING Heldon off the ledge --

TRAVERS, QUALEN AND HAL

are safe at their vantage, but stunned at the sight of --

THE AVALANCHE:

Heldon's machine fun FIRES uselessly as he's swallowed in an

explosion of white -- as well as a flurry of green as the

bills scatter amid the snow --

-- then:
quiet. The avalanche ends as abruptly as it started.

The rumble dies down to complete silence.

TRAVERS:

apoplectic, stares at seventeen million dollars worth of snow

settling far below. He takes his gun, furious, and fires at

THE UPPER LEDGE:

where Gabe was hugging the wall -- it's now blanketed with

snow. Travers FIRES an entire clip at where Gabe used to be.

The snow FALLS AWAY, revealing nothing but stark rock. Gabe

has been swept away.

HAL:

reacts and attacks Travers.

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