Enemy of the State Page #6

DEAN:

Something bad happened tonight.

STACY:

What?

DEAN:

I saw a man die.

STACY:

What do you mean?

DEAN:

In front of Harrison's, he got hit

by a bus. I knew him. The firm did

some pro bono work for his

organization a few years back.

STACY:

(beat)

I'm sorry.

DEAN:

The thing is, when I saw him, it

seemed like he wanted to tell me...

(beat)

...he was upset about something and

he said...

(beat)

Doesn't matter now. I'm gonna wash up.

STACY:

What'd you buy at Harrison's?

DEAN:

A toaster. And no terrorist talk at

dinner. You're spookin' the kids.

DEAN heads upstairs...

REYNOLDS (V.O.)

"Do thou, O Lord, protect us--

INT. CATECHISM CLASSROOM - SAME TIME

REYNOLDS lectures a class of young CATECHISM STUDENTS.

REYNOLDS (CONT'D)

--guard us ever from this generation.

On every side the wicked prowl, as

vileness is exalted among the sons

of men." Psalms 12.7 and 12.8. Tell

me what this means, Mr. O'Brian.

O'BRIAN

It means--

REYNOLDS cellular phone rings. He opens his briefcase

and takes it out.

INT. HALLWAY - CONTINUOUS

REYNOLDS busts out of the room, phone to his ear. Two

MEN IN SUITS wait like pit bulls, ready for anything.

Over the phone, we HEAR CONNECTING HANDSHAKES as the

lines find digital compatibility.

INTERCUT WITH:

HARRISON'S DEPARTMENT STORE - CONTINUOUS

The store is now closed.

INT. SECURITY OFFICE - CONTINUOUS

HICKS holds a cellular phone as PRATT questions the

SALES CLERK. Nearby, a monitor shows a time-coded

surveillance tape of the lingerie section. DEAN and

ZAVITZ are in playback, engaged in their earlier meeting.

Finally, a confirming tone...

REYNOLDS:

What happened?

HICKS:

He's dead. An accident. Hit by a bus.

REYNOLDS:

What about the tapes?

HICKS:

We found the originals.

REYNOLDS:

The originals?

HICKS:

There was a transfer.

REYNOLDS:

Am I to understand--

HICKS:

He never made it to the newspaper,

but there was private sector contact.

REYNOLDS:

Who?

HICKS:

Several indiscriminates and one

primary who we've ID'd as Robert

Dean. A Crystal City attorney.

(silence)

Mr. Reynolds?

(silence)

Sir?

REYNOLDS:

Contact COINTEL. Profile. Assess

the threat. Then cross-check

against Zavitz. Red-flag the

intersects and anything we can

exploit. Also NRO. Pull up the

keyhole tapes. I need to own him. I

need to own him now.

EXT. NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, BLDG 227 - DAY

Establishing. Fort Meade. A massive complex surrounded

by razor wire and surveillance cameras.

SUPER:
NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY, FORT MEADE, MARYLAND

We PUSH IN on one building several blocks long. Its

roof is bristling with antennas, dishes and domes.

INT. BUILDING/A LARGE SPACE - CONTINUOUS

TIGHT ON MANILA folder stamped

TOP SECRET - UMBRA

HANDLE VIA COMINT CHANNELS ONLY

HAND CARRY - NO COPIES

A SKINNY MAN clutches the folder, walking by endless

cubicles of high-tech industriousness. He stops where

an ANALYST types on a terminal near a retinal scanner.

The ANALYST opens the folder to see a request for a

PRIORITY WRAP on ROBERT DEAN, followed by a Social

Security Number. The ANALYST enters in the number.

A MONTAGE OF IMAGES GAINING IN SPEED--

CLOSE on COMPUTER SCREENS showing in the harvesting of

DEAN's electrical identity. His phone bills scroll by.

Names, addresses, employment people called--

Months, years flashing by quickly. Other data banks are

probed. Insurance policies, credit histories, video

rentals, library checkouts, school transcripts, ATM

transactions, tax returns...everything. Irregularities

are red-flagged.

A matching ZAVITZ ITEM is found. DEAN's banking info is

red-flagged. He has large cash withdrawals with no

matching purchases. His withdrawal dates match up with

unaccounted-for cash deposits...

...in RACHEL BANKS' savings account.

CLOSE ON PRINTER. Conclusions spill out labeled "RISK".

More probes are recommended into the RACHEL BANKS/ROBERT

DEAN money connection.

CLOSE ON EYE BEING SCANNED - We HEAR a TONE.

PULL BACK to a PREGNANT WOMAN sitting with her head

pressed to the scanner. A second verification TONE

sounds. A poster above her work station reads:

IN A DIGITAL WORLD

NUMBERS DON'T LIE - PEOPLE DO

She enters a phone number in her terminal. The computer

DIALS. She waits, snacking on rice cakes. Finally,

another computer ANSWERS. On screen appears: PAC-TEL

TESTING BOARD. The screen fills with choices. She

highlights -

AT&T LINE-VERIFICATION REQUEST

LOG-IN ACCESS CODE

She enters another command. A new prompt reads: ENTER

LINE REQUEST NUMBER.

Eyeing DEAN's folder, she enters the phone number and

commands "ENTER". "RECORD".

The telephone tap is instant.

A VOICE GRAPH appears in-sync with CONVERSATION now

coming over the speakers.

DEAN (O.S.)

(mid-conversation, over speakers)

Diane's instinct is that it's sabre

rattling. I think they're gonna

file suit.

She enters more commands. An Automated-Voice-Transcriber

kicks in. DEAN's CONVERSATION is now transcribed

automatically.

INT. NRO, KEYHOLE-12 LAB - CONTINUOUS

A massive, dark place growing with monitors and tech.

SUPER:
NATIONAL RECONNAISSANCE ORGANIZATION, CHANTILLY,

VIRGINIA:

Names of world regions are posted above endless monitor

screens displaying live, digital-image feeds of Earth

coming in from the Keyhole-12 Spy Satellites. Every

populated area of the planet is covered here. ANALYSTS

attend the many feeds.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes