Collateral Damage Page #15

One guerrilla approaching Gordy stops short and standsoff, cocked-and-locked, as the other comes up. Gordycarefully produces the travel pass. The guerrilla looksit over. In butchered Spanish -

GORDY:

Yo trabajo con Felix. Felix -(

indicates)

-- la cantina. Con Berta.

The attractive woman we saw earlier playing with thechildren now walks up holding the hand of a small boy. A

guerrilla waves them on. The woman and boy hustle by,

glancing at the face of this big gringo in trouble asthey pass. They hurry on toward the nearby "Cine."

OFF Gordy, as the guerrilla indicates for him to startwalking to the truck...

213 INT. BAR - NIGHT 213

The guerrilla patrol has taken Gordy to Felix, stillsitting with Berta in his lap.

FELIX:

Are you trying to get us both

killed?

GORDY:

I went for a walk. I figured you

wanted to be alone with Berta.

(CONTINUED)

81.

213 CONTINUED:
213

FELIX:

(to the guerrillas;

in Spanish)

I'll make sure he's on a shorter

leash.

The patrol leader looks at Felix hard. Then nods. The

guerrillas go. Felix dumps Berta onto her feet, stands.

Felix looks at Gordy, shakes his head.

Sh*t...

FELIX:

214 INT. LAND CRUISER - NIGHT 214

Gordy and Felix get in.

FELIX:

You're working all night,

Beckmann. That generator getsfixed, and you're out of my hairin the morning.

Felix jams the car in drive.

Gordy looks down, sees the spoon of the grenade exposed.

As he readjusts his shirt to cover the spoon...

215 EXT. PLANTATION - DIESEL GENERATORS - NIGHT 215

Felix is right there supervising for himself as Gordyfinishes working. Gordy stands. He stares hopefully atthe MACHINE. Then pushes the starter, and... VRROOM!

The heat lights in the second row of sheds brighten.

Gordy turns to Felix.

GORDY:

That make you happy?

No response.

GORDY:

Where's my money?

FELIX:

You'll get it in the morning.

82.

216 INT. HACIENDA - STOREROOM - NIGHT 216

Felix yanks the dangling cord and turns on the lights.

The room's a mess. All kinds of rubbish. There's a

washtub sink. There's a cot.

GORDY:

This where Armstrong stays?

FELIX:

This is where you stay... A boat

will take you down river at seven.

Felix closes the door. We hear a LOCK TURNING. Gordymoves to the door and tries it. It's definitely locked.

Through a small window, he can see the lights in thesheds and the ever-vigilant nighttime ELC sentriespatrolling the grounds. The DIESELS ROAR in the b.g.

Gordy turns back. Readjusts the grenade digging into hisbelly, then hooks it back inside his pants. He turns off

the light. Moves to the adobe wall opposite the door.

THROUGH another small window, he can see it's dark in

this direction.

Gordy rummages through the refuse lying around the room.

We see some rubber tubing. We see some rope. Gordyfinally finds a piece of sharp metal. He moves to the

wall with the window. With the DIESELS covering thenoise, Gordy starts chiseling away at the adobe.

217 EXT. PLANTATION - NIGHT 217

The big-wheeled guerrilla Suburban drives in.

218 INT. STOREROOM 218

Gordy is making slow progress through the wall, when hehears the VEHICLE arrive. He moves to the window by thedoor and looks out. Sees the Suburban. Four guerrillasare getting out, including the Beaten Man. Felix meets

them. The Beaten Man exchanges words with Felix. Felix

indicates Gordy's room. As the Beaten Man continues to

question Felix...

Gordy realizes he's f***ed. He can't get through thewall fast enough. His eyes go to water dripping from apipe leading to the washtub sink. He moves to it. Finds

the water pipe underneath that feeds the tap. Cranks

shut the master valve on the pipe. Wraps his handsaround the pipe and pulls. Nothing. Jams his feet

against the wall for leverage and pulls harder... Andthis time, he yanks the pipe free from the sink. He

finds the rubber hose. Fits an end over the pipe.

(CONTINUED)

83.

218 CONTINUED:
218

Quickly lashes it on with some wire. Then cranks on the

master valve. High-pressure water streams from the hose.

Gordy sneaks a peek out the window. The Beaten Man's

still questioning Felix. The sound of the hose water is

being covered by the DIESELS.

Gordy crosses the room, extending the hose to the holehe's made in the wall. He aims the stream at the hole.

Thumbs the end of the hose to make the water jet evenharder... And watches the jet begin eating away at theold adobe and brick, just as it ate through the crumblingplaster in the Spanish Harlem tenement.

219 EXT. PLANTATION 219

The Beaten Man finishes with Felix. Felix begins leadingthe guerrillas toward the storeroom.

220 INT. STOREROOM 220

Gordy's made progress, but hasn't broken through yet.

And he won't, not in enough time. Under his breath -

GORDY:

Come on, baby... come on, baby...

And just then...

221 EXT. PLANTATION 221

WHAM-WHAM-WHAM, one of the DIESELS Gordy repaired suffersa spectacularly loud internal breakdown. The heat lightsdim in a row of sheds. Felix and the guerrillas stop tosee what's happening. At which point, the generator nowBURSTS into FLAMES.

222 BACK TO GORDY 222

He smiles.

GORDY:

Just in time...

And we realize that he'd planned on the diversion, as...

The water jet breaks through. The hole's still small.

Gordy begins to widen it.

84.

223 EXT. PLANTATION 223

Felix, the Beaten Man and the other guerrillas resumetheir march toward the storeroom.

They reach the storeroom. Water's pouring out under thedoor. Felix unlocks the door and opens it to find...

224 INT. STOREROOM 224

Gordy's gone. The Beaten Man signals two men to go outthe hole. To the other man -BEATEN

MAN:

(in Spanish)

Organize the others. Find him.

The man goes. Outside, we hear him SHOUT orders to the

guerrillas guarding the plantation. The Beaten Man turns

to Felix. Felix is terrified. In a pleading tone -FELIX

(in Spanish)

He can't be far. You'll catch -BANG!

The Beaten Man SHOOTS Felix in the head. Then

exits. OFF Felix, dead, his blood mixing with the waterstill streaming across the floor...

225 EXT. PLANTATION - MOMENTS LATER 225

The guerrillas report to the Beaten Man. They can't findGordy. To the men guarding the plantation -BEATEN

MAN:

(in Spanish)

Keep looking.

He signals his men to come with him. They get into theSuburban. Whereupon we FIND...

226 UNDER SUBURBAN 226

Gordy's hanging onto the chassis. With the large tiresand high ground-clearance, there's just enough room toget his legs over the rear axle. He's just finishingrigging up a rope he took from the store room -- therope's slung from one side of the chassis to the other,

to support Gordy's back. He hears the ENGINE START,

grabs the transfer case, and...

85.

227 SUBURBAN 227

ROARS off with Gordy suspended below.

The rear DRIVE SHAFT WHIRS madly, inches from Gordy'sface. And, with each bump in the road, even with heavy-

duty off-road shocks and springs, the undercarriage ofthe Suburban comes within inches of crushing Gordy'slegs. ROCKS are PINGING everywhere. The dirt and the

dust are choking. Even for a short distance, it's goingto be a long, dangerous ride.

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