G.I. Jane Page #13

JORDAN:

That's a good story.

WICKWIRE:

So the sh*t you gotta go through?

To get from here to there? Brother

said it was worth it. Worth the

training... worth the divorce...

worth anything.

JORDAN:

He was married?

WICKWIRE:

At first.

JORDAN:

You got anybody, Wick?

WICKWIRE:

Not me. You?

It hurts to think about it. The Potomac. The gunkhole

harbor. Royce.

WICKWIRE:

O'Neil?

JORDAN:

How'd you make it last time, Wick?

How'd you get through this part?

WICKWIRE:

(a beat)

Last time I didn't.

JORDAN:

(jarred)

Let's keep talkin', Wick. Just keep

talkin' to me...

EXT. NEWSSTAND - WASHINGTON D.C. - DAY

Royce stops for a newspaper. As he pays, something else

catches his eye. He picks up...

A "People" magazine. The grainy image of "G.I. Jane"

fills the cover. A photo inset, much clearer, shows a

beaming DeHaven. "BEHIND EVERY GREAT WOMAN..."

ROYCE:

(shaking head)

Suitable for framing...

INT. CORRIDOR - N.I.C. - DAY

ROYCE:

Got time for a brain-pick?

Reading as he walks, a former CIA spook looks up to find

Royce in lockstep. It surprises him: Not many people

here talk to him -- unless they're in trouble. THE SPOOK

is physically unremarkable except for a face that would be

right at home on Easter Island: This is a man who's seen

most of the world's ills -- and forgotten none.

THE SPOOK:

Subject?

ROYCE:

O'Neil, Jordan.

THE SPOOK:

Thought you two were file-closed.

ROYCE:

You knew about us?

THE SPOOK:

Sorry. Thought you knew I knew.

INT. SITUATION ROOM - N.I.C. - DAY

Royce and the Spook enter. The vault-like door closes

emphatically. Ensuring their privacy:

ROYCE:

Computer -- no transcription, no

com-link, no data-link. In fact...

shut-down sequence 0-Niner-0-8,

mark.

All around, screens go blank, phone lights extinguish.

They sit at the conference table. No Computer. No files.

Just two guys doing headwork.

THE SPOOK:

All right. So who stands to gain if

Jordan flames out in a big way?

ROYCE:

The E-Ringers? Full integration is

gonna cost the services billions at

the worst possible time -- when

Congress is already swinging the

axe.

THE SPOOK:

(agreeing)

Congress cuts, military bleeds. But

Pentagon's a big place. Let's

narrow the sights.

ROYCE:

The Navy? They've made it clear

they don't want to pull missiles out

of subs to make room for women's

heads. What's it gonna cost to make

a fleet of Trident's co-ed?

THE SPOOK:

Sabotage born of economics?

Wouldn't be a first. But is Hayes

really going to start his watch with

such a public failure?

ROYCE:

Possibly. Just to spite DeHaven.

THE SPOOK:

Hmm. Let's aim higher.

Royce blinks. "What's higher?"

THE SPOOK:

The White House. If Jordan wins,

DeHaven wins in spades. Why? Well,

it's been said that the only man the

President fears -- ain't no man.

ROYCE:

The first female President?

THE SPOOK:

Don't for a second think she didn't

leak this story. "G.I. Jane" gives

DeHaven a symbol that taps into the

biggest constituency of them all.

ROYCE:

Women.

THE SPOOK:

If you were the President, wouldn't

that put a little piss in your

shoes?

ROYCE:

I don't know. Seems...

THE SPOOK:

This ain't about some little soldier

girl sloggin' her way through

commando school. The implications

go way beyond.

ROYCE:

Christ, I don't want to see her take

a fall. She thinks I do, but...

THE SPOOK:

I take it this file is still open.

ROYCE:

(shaping his words)

Even tough I don't talk to her every

day -- I still talk to her every

day. Know what I mean?

THE SPOOK:

(nodding)

Okay, so now work it from the other

end. Think about California -- and

how things might be handled there.

ROYCE:

I don't...

(scoffing)

What, someone on base? A "mole"?

THE SPOOK:

This is what you get for brain-

picking an old CIA spook. but if I

needed to control the outcome of

this test case, that's how I'd do

it. A man-in-place. Makes

everything very controllable.

INT. BOX - P.O.W. CAMP - DAY

JORDAN'S POV:
The box opening. Daylight assaulting us,

blowing out our eyes. Disembodied hands pulling us out.

EXT. P.O.W. CAMP - SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND - DAY

Legs hobbled, uniform soiled, Jordan is led past a row of

huts. She looks like she got hit by a train -- and got

back up.

JORDAN'S POV:
Vision still blown out. But inside the

pen, we make out 40 trainees now. One guy wrings out a

sock and drinks from it.

Jordan moves past huts. VOLATILE VOICES spill out as

trainees get interrogated.

JORDAN'S POV:
Outside one hut, we see Flea. At least we

think it's him:
Strapped face-down to a table, sobbing

quietly, he wears a slinky dress and whore's makeup. They

broke him -- and it's an ugly, ugly sight.

INT. INTERROGATION HUT - P.O.W. CAMP - DAY

THE CHIEF:

What is your father's name?

Jordan seated. Prowling the hut is her interrogator. Her

tormentor. Her chaperon through Hell.

THE CHIEF:

Simple question, lieutenant. No

reason not to answer. What is your

father's name?

JORDAN:

"Dad."

THE CHIEF:

Any brothers? Sisters?

JORDAN:

Dick, Jane, and Spot.

THE CHIEF:

Are you hungry? What's your

favorite food? We'll try to get it

for you.

JORDAN:

Green Eggs and Ham. You're not

going to get anywhere. You might as

well put me in the cage.

THE CHIEF:

You are in the cage, O'Neil. Right

here, right now.

JORDAN:

Should I be afraid?

THE CHIEF:

Right down to your worthless womb,

and I'll tell you why. This is my

island. My world. And here I can

get away with sh*t that would get me

arrested anywhere else in the world.

Take another scan of my little joy-

boy outside. If I can do that to a

Navy Seal, what's gonna happen to

you? Huh?

It makes Jordan think -- and yes, it makes her afraid.

Continuing the psychological strip-search:

THE CHIEF:

Why didn't you shoot the woman,

O'Neil?

JORDAN:

Wasn't deemed a threat.

THE CHIEF:

She led us right to you. That's no

threat?

Jordan rubs her head. So long ago. How did the call come

down?

THE CHIEF:

Would you have shot if it was a man?

JORDAN:

No. Yes. I mean, depends on --

THE CHIEF:

The others already told me, O'Neil.

They wanted to shoot, but you

wouldn't let them. Because you went

soft on another women --

JORDAN:

That's not right.

THE CHIEF:

That's what your crew said. Are

they lying? Or are you?

JORDAN:

I think you're the liar.

THE CHIEF:

I'm not the one who got five good

men thrown in a bamboo cage. You

wear the bars, you made the call,

and you got your whole crew --

JORDAN:

We didn't know we were compromised.

Firing would only've given away our

position.

THE CHIEF:

You think we should go easy on

women, O'Neil?

She stares a beat, knowing it's a loaded question.

THE CHIEF:

Do you?

JORDAN:

No.

THE CHIEF:

I'm so glad we agree.

With stunning ferocity, he grabs her by the neck, pushes

her out the door...

EXT. P.O.W. CAMP - SAN CLEMENTE ISLAND - DAY

... and throws her onto a table.

In the pens, all faces turn to watch. Even instructors

stop what they're doing as...

The Chief pushes Jordan's head down and jams up behind

her.

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