Eye In The Sky Page #16

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ALIA is curled up on the couch reading a children’s picture

book about London. She lovingly looks at the photographs.

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 84.

FATIMA FATIMA (CONT’D)

(calling from outside)Aa-liya rootiga waa diyaar!

Alia! The bread is ready! (Aa-liya rooti-gah waa deeyaar!)

ALIA is not happy about it, but covers it.

ALIA ALIA (CONT’D)

Yes, mama! Haye, hooyo!

(Hah-yay, hoo-yo!)

She slips her book under a couch cushion.

195 INT. BAKERY - ALIA’S COMPOUND - AFTERNOON

195

FATIMA hands ALIA a new basket of bread.

FATIMA:

FATIMA (CONT’D)

Not so many. Off you go.

Ma'ahan wax badan. Soco quad.

(Ma-ah-hahn wah badan. So

akat.)

She kisses ALIA on the forehead.

196 INT. GROUND CONTROL STATION - NIGHT

196

STEVE and CARRIE go through the final preparations in the

‘countdown to weapons’.

On their Reaper feed we see the Guards outside the compound.

And in the neighboring house, ALIA heads out of her gate.

197 EXT. PASSAGEWAY - EASTLEIGH - AFTERNOON

197

ALIA, with her basket of bread exits her compound and walks

off down the passageway toward the street.

198 INT. PJHQ - LONDON - AFTERNOON

198

POWELL watches the Beetle and the Reaper live feeds:

RASHEED seems afraid. He moves past DANFORD and enters a

small bathroom. DANFORD follows and hovers at the door.

Powell watches as RASHEED paces nervously in the bathroom.

DANFORD seems to be talking to him through the door.

POWELL:

Trouble in paradise...

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 85.

SERGEANT GLEESON

He’s having second thoughts.

COLONEL POWELL:

Bit late for that.

199

INT. OPERATIONS ROOM - COMPANY D BASE - AFTERNOON 199

MAJOR OWITI watches the Beetle and the Reaper live feeds.

200

INT. JAMA'S VAN - PARKLANDS - AFTERNOON 200

DAMISI watches the live feed from the Beetle.

201

EXT. STREET - EASTLEIGH - AFTERNOON 201

ALIA walks past the target house with her basket.

202

INT. GROUND CONTROL STATION - NIGHT 202

STEVE and CARRIE continue their preparations.

STEVE:

Weapon is armed, all green, good

laser. DPI is in the centre of the

roof.

CARRIE:

Copy. Cross hairs on it now.

The image pulls back to check that no one is within

collateral damage range.

STEVE has his finger on the trigger.

STEVE:

Standby. Confirm pax status.

CARRIE:

Good luck...

STEVE:

Three - two -

ALIA appears on the edge of the screen.

A beat.

STEVE (CONT’D)

Is that a kid?

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 86.

STEVE holds from pressing the trigger.

STEVE (CONT’D)

Zoom in.

CARRIE zooms in on the image.

CARRIE:

It’s that little girl with the

hoop.

STEVE is intensely anxious as he watches ALIA.

STEVE:

I’ll give her time to walk through.

203

INT. PJHQ - LONDON - AFTERNOON 203

POWELL stares hard at the Reaper image.

COLONEL POWELL:

You are cleared to engage,

Lieutenant.

204

INT. ROOM - HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE - NIGHT 204

LUCY watches ALIA on the live feed.

205 INT. GROUND CONTROL STATION - NIGHT 205

STEVE still hesitates, his finger on the button.

COLONEL POWELL (O.S.)

I repeat:
you are cleared to

engage.

STEVE is desperately tense. CARRIE, frightened, looks at him.

CARRIE:

We can wait, can’t we?

206

INT. PJHQ - LONDON - AFTERNOON 206

For a few seconds POWELL stares at ALIA on the screen, lost

in the thought of her and her fate.

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 87.

207 INT. GROUND CONTROL STATION - NIGHT 207

STEVE and CARRIE watch as ALIA stops at her corner spot table

beside Amadu’s compound.

STEVE:

(to Alia, a whisper)

What the hell are you doing?

208 EXT. STREET - EASTLEIGH - AFTERNOON 208

ALIA puts her basket on the ground. She unfolds her

tablecloth and places it on the table, sweeping her hand

neatly across it. She puts her bread basket on the table.

A208 INT. BRIEFING ROOM A - WHITEHALL - AFTERNOON A208

BENSON and the others watch ALIA setting out her bread in

shocked silence.

ANGELA raises a hand to her mouth in disbelief, then looks to

BENSON for a reaction or response, but he remains staring at

the image of Alia on screen, at a loss for a moment.

209 INT. PJHQ - LONDON - AFTERNOON 209

POWELL recovers from the place she has been in her head.

COLONEL POWELL:

We have this one opportunity, let’s

not lose it.

STEVE:

Ma’am, she’s selling bread.

CARRIE:

Oh, Jesus...

COLONEL POWELL:

These men are about to disperse.

Engage now.

A beat. STEVE is desperate to delay - but he also doesn’t

want to let down the team and the mission.

STEVE:

(bravely)

Ma’am, I understand we have

clearance.

(MORE)

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 88.

STEVE (CONT'D)

I will fire if I see the HVIs

moving or when this girl is out of

the frag radius - but I want to

give her a chance to get out of the

way.

COLONEL POWELL:

Lieutenant, you have clearance.

There is a lot more at stake than

you see here in this image.

STEVE:

(firm but nervous)

Ma’am, I need you to run the

Collateral Damage Estimate again,

with the girl out front.

COLONEL POWELL:

The situation has not changed

Lieutenant. You are cleared to

engage.

CARRIE, keen not to disobey orders, anxiously looks at STEVE.

CARRIE:

What do we do?

COLONEL POWELL:

I repeat, you are cleared to

engage!

STEVE is terrified by the presence of ALIA.

STEVE:

Colonel Powell, Ma’am, I am the

pilot in command responsible for

releasing the weapon. I have the

right to ask for the CDE to be run

again. I will not release my weapon

until that happens.

A long, tense beat. POWELL is seething. But these are the

rules regarding a pilot’s rights and she has no option but to

respect the request:

COLONEL POWELL:

Re-run CDE.

STEVE:

Do I understand we are now on

‘weapons hold’?

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 89.

COLONEL POWELL:

Weapons hold.

Despite her irritation, POWELL shows a moment of relief.

STEVE eases his finger off the trigger.

210 INT. SQUADRON OPERATIONS ROOM - NIGHT 210

MATT:

F***!

COLONEL WALSH:

(in his state of anxiety)

Steve, what the f*** are you doing?

You just threw the rulebook at a

Colonel?

211 INT. GROUND CONTROL STATION - NIGHT 211

STEVE is trying to keep it together. To keep it professional.

STEVE:

Sir, I am safing up the weapon

until you read me a new clearance

with a new CDE.

STEVE and CARRIE watch ALIA laying out her bread.

CARRIE:

(almost a whisper)

Well done.

He nods his thanks. Both know he’s in big trouble now.

212 INT. PJHQ - LONDON - AFTERNOON 212

POWELL watches the same Reaper image: ALIA looking small and

vulnerable as she lays out the bread. On her other screen,

RASHEED is still in the bathroom.

COLONEL POWELL:

Sergeant, re-run CDE!

MUSHTAQ:

Yes, Ma’am!

COLONEL POWELL:

Showman50, North20, get your man

with the beetle to buy this girl’s

bread and get her out of there.

YELLOW SHOOTING SCRIPT 12 September 2014 90.

213 INT. OPERATIONS ROOM - COMPANY D BASE - AFTERNOON 213

MAJOR OWITI on his headset:

MAJOR OWITI:

North20, Showman50, copy that.

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