Flight Page #24

HARLING places a leather doctor’s bag on the table. An

anxious CHARLIE reaches for the bag which sets HARLING into a

frenzy.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

YOU DO NOT TOUCH THE MERCH

MOTHERF***ER!!!

It’s quiet as HARLING gives orders.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

Everyone except Whip and myself

take three steps away from the

table.

As they step away, HARLING now pulls a beautiful silver-

framed mirror from his bag and a blue coke grinder, he calmly

but sternly delivers orders...

HARLING MAYS (CONT'D)

I need three things.

(focuses on Charlie)

Two glasses of water, a credit card

and a hundred dollar bill.

CHARLIE:

All I have is a twenty.

HARLING MAYS:

(takes the card and bill)

That’ll do. And I need to make a

coco puff.

132.

HARLING Tosses a pack of smokes to CHARLIE.

CHARLIE:

A what?

HUGH takes the smokes from CHARLIE and pulls out a cigarette.

HARLING stops grinding, opens the lid and pours out a nice

smooth pile of coke. He begins a masterful ballet of cocaine

manipulation.

HUGH:

Millions of dollars hang in the

balance.

HUGH is removing the last quarter of an inch of tobacco from

the end of the cigarette.

CHARLIE:

They hang on the consumption of a

300 dollar bag of cocaine.

HARLING uses the credit card to groom the coke into neat

piles and lines. He has a system.

WHIP’s head sags as he again appears ready to pass out.

HARLING MAYS:

Okay Whip, just two small whiffs

first...one on each side...just a

primer.

Using the mirror as a tray, HARLING holds the rolled up 20

dollar bill just above the line of coke. WHIP slowly manages

to place his face in position to ingest the coke. It’s tense

as his head wobbles. He finally zeroes in and snorts the

first line. HARLING quickly switches nostrils. WHIP sniffs

the other side.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

Atta boy, head back now. Swallow.

Water, chief, you! Water.

CHARLIE puts the glass of water to WHIP’s mouth. WHIP

drinks.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

(snaps his fingers)

Coco puff...

HUGH hands HARLING the cigarette with a slightly hollowed out

tip. HARLING leans over the coke with the cigarette in his

mouth and hoovers up a small pile, sucking the coke through

the cigarette.

133.

HARLING sits up, careful to keep the cocaine in the end of

the cigarette. He tips it up and lights it.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

Little coco puff buddy. C’mon

banana man. Who’s the banana man?

WHIP’s head levels a look to Harling with a smile that leads

us to believe that he is actually making a rally.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

Good man, focus up big dog. Here’s

the train comin’ to you.

HARLING takes a puff and holds it as he extends the cocaine

cigarette to WHIP. WHIP is more nimble now as he c*cks his

head in acceptance of the cigarette. WHIP takes a drag and

holds it.

HARLING MAYS (CONT’D)

(still holding the smoke)

Keep it down big dog, banana boat’s

comin’ tell me the banana boat’s

comin’...

WHIP finally exhales the smoke, HARLING does too. WHIP

smiles.

WHIP:

The banana boat is here.

HARLING MAYS:

Nothing can keep you down dog.

Nothing keeps the big dog down.

CHARLIE:

Okay, we gotta go.

HARLING has crafted 4 big lines now, he snorts one himself in

record time. Looks to HUGH and CHARLIE.

HARLING MAYS:

You guys are up.

HUGH:

No, I’m good. Charlie?

CHARLIE:

Are you f***ing crazy?

WHIP jumps in and sniffs 2 huge lines. He looks to HARLING.

WHIP:

Thanks brother, I’m back.

134.

HARLING gathers his things, stands and hugs WHIP.

HARLING MAYS:

I love you man.

WHIP:

I love you too.

HUGH and CHARLIE are quiet as they watch the strange but

sincere drug-fueled emotion pass between two old friends.

HARLING eyes CHARLIE before handing him a baggie.

HARLING MAYS:

There’s a gram in here, you paid

for it and he might need it. My

work here is done. See you all on

the dark side of the moon.

HARLING leaves and our TRIO exchange looks, “Did that just

happen?”

EXT. THE ST. JEROME HOTEL -- GUEST HALLWAY -- DAY

133

The opening bars of Joe Cocker’s “Feelin’ Alright” crackle 133

just before we see WHIP step out of the hotel room and begin

a relatively steady strut down the hallway. Deja Vu.

Sunglasses on, WHIP is backed by HUGH and CHARLIE who flank

him from a few steps behind. Further back we can see that

OFFICER EDWARDS also exits the room wearing latex gloves,

carrying a large plastic garbage bag that obviously holds any

evidence of the debauched night or the morning’s

resurrection.

INT. THE ST. JEROME HOTEL -- ELEVATOR -- DAY

WHIP, HUGH and CHARLIE ride the elevator. WHIP is buttoning

his shirt and fixing his tie. It is miraculous how the coke

has revived him. A MOM and her 8 year old DAUGHTER get on

the elevator.

CHARLIE:

Morning.

We watch as a small trickle of blood escapes from WHIP’s left

nostril. HUGH pulls a handkerchief from his pocket, hands it

to WHIP.

HUGH:

Your nose...

WHIP accepts the handkerchief and wipes his nose. WHIP sees

blood on the cloth and tilts his head back.

135.

We now see that there is a mirrored ceiling to the elevator.

WHIP tries to study his reflection in the ceiling as he holds

the hankie to his nose. WHIP begins to wobble and CHARLIE

helps him regain his balance.

INT. THE ST. JEROME HOTEL-ELEVATOR LOBBY-MOMENTS LATER

Our TRIO walk as tall as they can towards the hearing room.

HUGH:

I’m gonna head in and tell Ellen

Block that we’re here.

HUGH hustles off as CHARLIE pulls close to WHIP.

CHARLIE:

You’re gonna make it. Remember, if

they ask about your drinking, it’s

totally acceptable to say, “I don’t

recall.”

WHIP wheels on CHARLIE and unloads with focused anger...

WHIP:

Do not tell me how to lie about my

drinking. I’ve been lying about my

drinking my whole life.

As we disappear in to WHIP’s weary eyes we hear the

distinctive sound of a jetliner screaming through the air.

INT. THE ST. JEROME HOTEL - BALL ROOM - NTSB HEARING-DAY

On TWO LARGE SCREENS we watch the grainy cell phone footage

shot by a witness of SOUTHJET FLIGHT 227’s final moments in

the sky. ACCOMPANYING the Video is the REAL AUDIO of the

cockpit voice recording...

The room has a dais where the NTSB board members sit. A

large blue curtain is the backing for the round NTSB shield

that hangs above the proceedings. A large drop down screen

will show images, graph and text as needed by the NTSB.

A confident woman, ELLEN BLOCK, approaches carrying a file

which she lays on the podium.

ELLEN BLOCK:

Those are difficult images to

watch. For the record, I’m Ellen

Block, Hearing Officer for this

hearing. Captain Whitaker, good

morning.

136.

We see WHIP who looks rough but stable in his witness chair.

WHIP:

Morning.

ELLEN BLOCK:

What was captured on that video is

that the aircraft was in a

relatively stable glide just prior

to the moment of impact.

However, according to the data we

retrieved from the cockpit data

recorders, at exactly 9:34, after

flying 27 minutes without incident,

the transponder recorded a loss in

altitude in excess of 4800 feet per

minute in what is considered a

“full pitch nose down” attitude.

Then at 9:
42, according to the data

recorders, a decision was made to

invert the aircraft. The NTSB has

created animated simulation that I

would like to play at this point.

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