Face\Off Page #29

CASTOR suddenly drops back. WHAM! Sparks fly -- shredding

metal as Castor rams the van.

WHAM! Archer returns the favor.

THE VEHICLES SURGE FORWARD -- bashing each other to bits.

Mufflers, fenders, bumpers and hubcaps tear off and scatter

like shrapnel behind them.

PICKING UP SPEED, the drivers are so utterly focused, so

full of hatred -- they don't see what's looming up ahead ...

A BIG CRANE sits on the right side of the bridge.

ARCHER'S heading right for it. He yanks the wheel and jumps

the pedestrian walk -- clearing it -- almost ...

A SWINGING CRANE HOOK catches the roof of the van. It spins

out and rams the opposite guardrail.

THE RAILING buckles but holds. Archer tries to restart the

van when WHAM! Castor backs right into him. The railing

snaps off and plunges into the abyss.

ARCHER fires up the engine -- but gets no traction. His

rear wheels spin in the air -- suspended hundreds of feet

above the bay.

CASTOR wheels around and speeds forward for the kill.

ARCHER kicks out the shattered windshield.

CRUNCH! The squad car slams into --

THE VAN, sending it tumbling over the edge just as --

ARCHER LEAPS out -- landing hard on the squad car hood.

CASTOR swings the car wildly -- finally throwing Archer.

Castor looks around -- can't see his enemy -- and decides to

floor it. He drives a short ways then ... SLAMS HIS BRAKES.

Castor gets out of the car and walks a few feet. He peers

into the black night -- horrified because ...

THERE IS NO MORE BRIDGE!

Castor sizes up the thirty-foot gap -- then turns and ...

ARCHER (o.s.)

End of the road, Castor.

CASTOR turns to find himself facing ARCHER. Bruised,

bloody, nearly unconscious, the lawman levels his pistol

menacingly. Castor raises his arms in surrender.

CASTOR:

You won't shoot me, Jon

-- I'm unarmed.

Archer hesitates -- his whole being in conflict. Finally:

ARCHER:

You're right. I won't

shoot you.

He lowers the pistol ... then gives in to the FEELING.

ARCHER (cont'd)

Not in the face anyway.

ARCHER fires -- BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! CASTOR jerks and reels

back. He drops to his knees and looks at Archer in total

disbelief. Then he sinks to the pavement and lies still.

Exhausted, ARCHER lets the pistol drop.

BEHIND HIM -- SQUAD CARS close in. Relieved, he turns back

to Castor but -- CASTOR'S BODY IS GONE!

ARCHER desperately follows a trail of blood and finds CASTOR

dragging himself over the edge of the bridge gap.

ARCHER leaps and snags CASTOR'S hand just as he falls.

ARCHER struggles to hang on as CASTOR looks up and smiles --

his weight pulling ARCHER into the chasm.

He strains and somehow pulls CASTOR back onto the

bridge. ARCHER collapses, gasping, on top of CASTOR.

WANDA and BUZZ rush up.

BUZZ:

You okay, Commander?

ARCHER:

What did you call me?

WANDA:

He called you "commander,"

Commander.

ARCHER attempts a smile -- then sags to the ground.

LATER -- ON THE BRIDGE

Sealed-off crime scene; an NSA ambulance loads CASTOR;

ARCHER'S on a gurney right behind.

ARCHER:

How is he?

EVE:

No life signs at all.

He's a turnip.

ARCHER:

That's what they always say.

Eve tries to climb into the ambulance. Wanda stops her.

WANDA:

We'll take him from here.

EVE:

But he's my husband.

WANDA:

But he works for us.

ARCHER'S loaded -- Eve hands onto his fingers until the very

last moment. Eye-contact: tired, relieved. The door

SHUTS and the ambulance takes off -- leaving Eve behind.

INT. ARCHER'S HOUSE -- DAY

Maybe days, maybe weeks later -- no way to tell. EVE is

at the dining room table, catching up on medical reports.

Sensing something, she looks up and sees a SILHOUETTE at

the front screen-door -- a MAN'S silhouette.

ARCHER'S VOICE

Hello, Eve.

Pulse pounding, EVE frantically pushes open the door to

glimpse the face of the man with ARCHER'S voice.

IT'S JON ARCHER

EVE stares -- then touches his face carefully, tenderly --

searching for a clue, a FEELING that will reveal the truth.

EVE:

I started wondering -- if

you couldn't switch back --

would it make a difference?

ARCHER:

Would it?

EVE:

Damn right.

EVE pulls him tight -- holding on for dear life.

JAMIE (o.s.)

Dad?

JAMIE is there. ARCHER smiles -- gently, almost sadly --

with a softness and genuineness that Castor Troy could never

feel, could never fake.

She rushes to him. The whole family hangs on, hugging and

kissing -- for the first time ever, really TOGETHER.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. ARCHER HOME -- NIGHT

Midnight. JAMIE sleeps peacefully.

Likewise EVE ... until something rouses her. Waking, she

sees ARCHER isn't there ... then hears something. Looking

out the window, she sees --

IN THE DRIVEWAY:

ARCHER takes aim at the basket. He buries a free throw,

making it look easy. His shooting style is chillingly

familiar ... or was it just a lucky shot?

FADE OUT ...

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